The biggest shopping event in China is set to set a new record this year: Online giant Alibaba approached on „Singles Day“ eight hours before the end of the sale, the record of the previous year.
The largest online retailer had already sold goods valued at 21.4 billion euros this afternoon, according to the South China Morning Post. In the previous year, it was 21.8 billion euros.
The numbers are an indication that the ongoing US trade dispute has had little impact on consumer spending in China so far. In the run-up, it was feared that Alibaba and other online merchants would be hit hard by the trade dispute.
Anti-Valentine’s Day for single people
The „Singles Day“ on 11.11. In China, students originally thought of it as a kind of anti-Valentine’s day for singles, because the date consists of ones. Eight years ago, Alibaba began offering its customers high discounts for 24 hours a day. Numerous competitors followed the example, making the annual „Singles Day“ a big discount battle.
Many customers in China are waiting for the day and postpone planned bulk purchases until then. Last year Singles Day brought sales records to online retailers.
In the first two minutes Alibaba has already sold goods worth 1.27 billion euros, according to the Xinhua news agency.
