Alibaba breaks all online shopping records as Singles Day sales generate $5 billion in 90 minutes

[midian182]

It may not have a lot of meaning to those of us living in the western world, but Singles Day is a big deal in China and is often thought of as their version of Black Friday. Taking place on the 11th of November, it’s been revealed that this year’s shopping spree generated $5 billion for e-commerce giant Alibaba in the first 90 minutes of Singles Day going live – the same amount that Americans spent online last year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

Singles Day - which is called Double Eleven by most of China in reference to the date on which it falls – was reputedly started by singleton students in 1993. The idea behind this anti-valentine event is that if you’re single, you’ll likely have no commitments (in terms of a partner or kids) and therefore should celebrate the single life by, amongst other things, buying stuff you want. It has since become the largest online shopping day in the world.

Despite the ongoing concerns over the state of China’s economy, Alibaba’s total Singles Day sales for 2015 are expected to exceed last year’s $9.3 billion and reach $13.7 billion, according to IDC data cited by Bloomberg.

Alibaba claims that 74 percent of the $5 billion spent on these initial sales went on cell phones, showing just how much that market is growing in China. In an Interview with Fortune magazine, Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said this year’s Double Eleven online shopping event will be the most international yet. “Chinese consumers will be buying an unprecedented assortment of international brands and products from around the world. Chinese consumers associate quality and prestige with American and European brands, and both have very solid presence on 11/11 in response to strong consumer demand.”

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https://www.techspot.com/news/62746-alibaba-breaks-all-online-shopping-records-singles-day.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I'm not surprised that they think European and American brands carry prestige if you remember the cheap, crude, useless consumer junk they used to produce. We used to avoid anything made in China like the plague. That still holds true to an extent today but things have improved quite dramatically but I'm still wary of most things they produce.

 

[Adhmuz]

...but I'm still wary of most things they produce.

Get over it, the amount of "Brand" name products produced in China is unbelievable, buying from sites like Ali just cut out the middle man/men and you get it for a fraction of the price. Big deal it hasn't gone through some "American Standards" of quality control, if your not satisfied you don't pay, or they'll send you the right thing without hesitation.

I took advantage of the sale today, bought almost $200 worth of knives, pc accessories, clothes, ect.

As great as "Singles" day is in China, in North America it's remembrance/memorial day, something which should not be overshadowed by people frivolously spending cash on junk.

 

[p51d007]

Been through this before.
In the early 60's, anything that said "made in Japan" was considered junk. Remember in the 80's, anything that said "made in Japan" was considered high end?
Sounds like the same thing is happening with "made in China"...

 

[alabama man]

Been through this before.
In the early 60's, anything that said "made in Japan" was considered junk. Remember in the 80's, anything that said "made in Japan" was considered high end?
Sounds like the same thing is happening with "made in China"...

Well the only difference is that everything is made in china and you don't have a choice. Would pay 100$ more for ps4 if it was made in japan. Also can't find any reasonable priced clothes made outside china or india, would buy gladly but not needing designer products, just want clothes that aren't shipped from around the world. Lucky I can still buy local food.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Get over it, the amount of "Brand" name products produced in China is unbelievable, buying from sites like Ali just cut out the middle man/men and you get it for a fraction of the price. Big deal it hasn't gone through some "American Standards" of quality control, if your not satisfied you don't pay, or they'll send you the right thing without hesitation.

I took advantage of the sale today, bought almost $200 worth of knives, pc accessories, clothes, ect.

As great as "Singles" day is in China, in North America it's remembrance/memorial day, something which should not be overshadowed by people frivolously spending cash on junk.

Get over what? Their brands and sales have absolutely no bearing on my existance. I was just remarking on the junk they used to produce.