- Title: Alibaba kicks off Singles' Day shopping festival in China
- Date: 10th November 2018
- Summary: SHANGHAI, CHINA (NOVEMBER 10, 2018) (REUTERS) SCREEN SHOWING COUNT DOWN TO SINGLE'S DAY / SCREEN ROLLING GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN RMB SHANGHAI, CHINA (NOVEMBER 11, 2018) (REUTERS) SCREEN SHOWING GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN RMB SCREEN SHOWING GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN USD SCREEN SHOWING GRAPHIC TO ILLUSTRATE THAT GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN RMB SURPASSED 10 BILLION SCREEN SHOWING GRAPHIC TO ILLUSTRATE THAT GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN RMB SURPASSED 10 BILLION / SCREEN ROLLING GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN RMB EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF ALIBABA, JACK MA, WALKING MA, TALKING TO GUESTS SHANGHAI, CHINA (NOVEMBER 10, 2018) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF ALIBABA, JACK MA, SPEAKING FROM A MONITOR ON STAGE, SAYING: "Single's Day is not a sales promotion event. It's an exchange of culture and a sharing of happiness. It's a festival created by Chinese people and fully accepted by the world." SHANGHAI, CHINA (NOVEMBER 11, 2018) (REUTERS) MEDIA SITTING SHANGHAI, CHINA (NOVEMBER 10, 2018) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF ALIBABA, JACK MA, SPEAKING FROM A MONITOR ON STAGE, SAYING: "This year marks the 10th anniversary of Single's Day. Single's Day is not a day for sales, it's a thanksgiving day. It's date for vendors to give their thanks to consumers with best products and cheapest prices." SHANGHAI, CHINA (NOVEMBER 11, 2018) (REUTERS) CAMERA OPERATORS VARIOUS OF SCREEN SHOWING INCREASING GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN RMB SCREEN SHOWING CROSS-BOARDER AND OVERSEAS TRANSACTIONS SCREEN SHOWING GLOBAL CROSS-BORDER COMMERCE DETAILS SCREEN SHOWING NUMBER OF COUNTRIES / REGIONS WITH COMPLETED TRANSACTIONS (200) VARIOUS OF SCREEN SHOWING LOGISTICS IN CHINA
- Embargoed: 24th November 2018 18:30
- Keywords: Chinese e-commerce giant Singles' Day shopping festival online discount sales gala
- Location: SHANGHAI, CHINA
- City: SHANGHAI, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA00195X9VET
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Sunday (November 11) sales topped 10 billion yuan ($1.44 billion) in just over two minutes from the opening of Singles' Day, an annual online discount sales gala.
Once a celebration for China's lonely hearts, Singles' Day has become a 24-hour extravaganza that outsells Black Friday and Cyber Monday U.S. sales combined, and acts as a barometer for China's consumers.
After a star-studded event in Shanghai late on Saturday (November 10) counted down to the sale's midnight start, Alibaba said gross merchandise volume (GMV) topped 10 billion yuan ($1.44 billion) in a little over two minutes, and had almost doubled, to 19.1 billion yuan ($2.73 billion), in under five minutes - beating the entire day's sales in 2012.
Singles' Day has become something of a litmus test for the strength of Chinese consumption, which is coming under pressure amid rising trade Sino-U.S. tensions and a wider economic slowdown.
Companies in China are already seeing the effect of rising caution among the country's shoppers.
The focus on Singles' Day will be Alibaba's final transaction number, which comes out just after midnight on Monday (November 12) following a frenzied day of deal hunting for shoppers and brands looking to bolster their sales. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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