- Title: Alibaba’s Singles’ Day generates $5.2 billion in sales in the first hour
- Date: 10th November 2016
- Summary: SHENZHEN, CHINA (NOVEMBER 10-11, 2016) (REUTERS) SCREEN COUNTING DOWN TO SINGLES’ DAY AND SCREEN SHOWING ROLLING NUMBER OF TOTAL SALES ON ALIBABA SHENZHEN, CHINA (NOVEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) SCREEN SHOWING TIME NUMBER OF TOTAL SALES ON ALIBABA ROLLING ON SCREEN / SCREEN SHOWING TOTAL GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME EXCEEDED RMB 1 BILLIION IN 52 SECONDS SCREEN SHOWING TOTAL GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME EXCEEDED RMB 1 BILLION IN 52 SECONDS / NUMBER OF TOTAL SALES ON ALIBABA ROLLING ON SCREEN SCREEN SHOWING TOTAL GROSS MERCHANDISE VOLUME IN U.S. DOLLAR
- Embargoed: 25th November 2016 21:13
- Keywords: Alibaba trade China Singles' Day November 11 global shopping festival Jack Ma
- Location: SHENZHEN, GUANGZHOU PROVINCE, CHINA
- City: SHENZHEN, GUANGZHOU PROVINCE, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA00157V69FR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba started the countdown to its annual Singles' Day shopping festival on Friday (November 11), promising consumers and investors a bonanza of fashion shows and virtual reality.
Zhang Yong, CEO of Alibaba Group, said the company generated more than $5.2 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) within the first hour of its China's Singles' Day sale.
"Three years ago in 2013, our total gross merchandise volume was 35 billion RMB for the entire day. Within three years, we reach this total gross merchandise volume in only an hour. Behind this, it shows that consumption in China is upgrading and users are enjoying the internet.
Alibaba said that this year, it only took 52 seconds to reach 1 billion RMB, which is 20 seconds faster than the year before.
The one-day event, held annually on November 11, sees billions of dollars of goods sold via Alibaba's Tmall platform at steep discounts, and is a barometer for the firm's performance. Transactions last year broke past $14 billion.
The celebration, launched seven years ago by Alibaba, has already eclipsed the combined sales of the equivalent events in the United States: Cyber Monday and Black Friday.
However, Alibaba's accounting practices for the event came under scrutiny this year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Some merchants have questioned whether results from the event are really as high as reported.
The firm, headed by billionaire businessman Jack Ma, plans to expand Singles' Day sales globally this year, opening up Hong Kong and Taiwan as the first markets outside China where consumers will be able to buy international products via Tmall.
This year's event will feature a performance by Katy Perry, virtual reality shopping, and a live-streamed fashion show in Shanghai allowing viewers to pre-order items as they appear on the catwalk, the firm said.
The sales are a key channel in driving transaction volumes, where consumers can get cut-price deals ahead of time, but the transaction only goes through on the day itself. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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