Alibaba Singles’ Day sales hit $23 bn in first nine hours

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Inc on Monday said sales for its annual Singles’ Day shopping blitz hit 158.31 billion yuan ($22.63 billion) in its first nine hours, up 25 per cent from 126.72 billion yuan at the same point last year.

Akin to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States, Singles’ Day has been promoted as a shopping fest by Alibaba Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Zhang since 2009, growing rapidly to become the world’s biggest online sales event.

Also known as “Double Eleven”, the festival’s name originates from the calendar date November 11, with the four ones of 11/11 signifying being single.