11.11 Sales Break World Record! 583,000 Yuan Spent per Second!
Source: China Daily
This year’s shopping extravaganza comes a week after Alibaba lost almost $76bn of its market value following China’s suspension of the $37bn listing of Ant Group, the financial technology firm which Alibaba owns a third of.
It also takes place as China experiences an economic rebound after getting the spread of the novel coronavirus under control within its borders, following the virus’ emergence in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
Alibaba launched the annual online blitz early this year, with two primary discount periods taking place from November 1 through November 3 and again on November 11.
The company will calculate gross merchandise volume (GMV) over the full 11-day period, as opposed to the usual 24 hours.
Records Tumble
As of 12:30am local time (16:30 GMT) on November 11, the campaign’s GMV had surpassed 372.3 billion Chinese yuan ($56.3bn) with the order rate hitting a record peak of 583,000 per second, Alibaba said.
Alibaba, Asia’s largest company, blew past last year’s record $38bn at the beginning of Singles’ Day.
Pop star Katy Perry, who has performed at the event before, made an appearance at the company’s gala late on Tuesday, albeit via a livestream, as travel restrictions on outside visitors remain in place in China.
Chinese consumers – who already buy about 30 percent of the nation’s retail purchases online – have become more reliant on e-commerce.
Homebound consumers turned grocery delivery into the industry’s hottest arena, anchoring an unprecedented surge in online activity during the nationwide lockdown. Domestic travel is accelerating, propping up Alibaba businesses such as Fliggy, while a raft of new smartphones launched during the quarter is expected to tap pent-up demand for electronics.