The annual Chinese “Singles Day” Shopping Festival has recorded a total of $9.3 billion in sales for e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), breaking the company’s sales record for the same event the previous year. The sales figure was realized past midnight after local online Chinese shoppers, together with online customers from overseas, have taken advantage of the 1-day opportunity to buy goods at irresistible discount rates.
Once an unknown Chinese holiday, “Singles Day” has been successfully turned by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) into an international annual sales event by including international brands in the shopping festival. These brands include American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), Blue Nile Inc (NASDAQ:NILE), Calvin Klein, Origins Natural Resources Inc., and Cotsco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST). Alibaba have attracted the attention of international sellers and shoppers by using 27,000 labels, offering big discounts on its websites such as Tmall. The strategy have proven effective as Alibaba have been able to generate a sales figure that is much higher than the $5.79 billion in online sales last year in the U.S. covering the period of Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday.
The rate of growth in sales for this year, however, is a bit lower compared to last year, even as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) is facing challenges as a newly listed company that has set its initial public offering about two months ago. Major technology companies, including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), are being sought out by Alibaba for possible cooperation as it positions itself for continued expansion and growth.
The bulk of sales this year comes from mobile devices, accounting to 43% of total orders. The company said a total of 278 million package shipments was made. Last year, shipments amounted to a total count of 150 million packages.
This article has been written by Nonito Guntan.
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