Alibaba Earns 35 Billion RMB in One Hour for Singles' Day

By Bridget O'Donnell

Singles Day is here, and if initial figures are any indication, Alibaba is off to another record-breaking year.

The online shopping giant already broke sales records today, earning a whopping RMB35.3 billion (USD5 billion) in one hour, RMB10 billion within seven minutes and RMB1 billion in just 52 seconds.

As with last year, mobile sales are dominating, with 84.3 percent of sales coming from devices.

According to Tech in Asia, Alibaba broke records last year, earning USD5 billion in 90 minutes, eventually going on to earn USD14.3 billion in 24 hours. It's already on track to beat that figure, with this morning's first hour profits being USD1 billion ahead of that last year's.

Singles Day is a sort of faux holiday that is a bit like China's answer to Cyber Monday. In recent years, Alibaba has brought out big stars for the Singles Day Gala, with the Beckhams, Kobe Bryant and Victoria's Secret Models making appearances this year.

[Images via 163, Tech in Asia]

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