Alibaba's Singles' Day sales hit USD 38.38 bn, breach last year's record

E-commerce giant Alibaba's Singles' Day sales this year hit a record USD 38.38 billion, crossing its previous record of USD 30.8 billion in 2018.

"As of 24:00:00, total GMV RMB 268.4 billion (USD 38.379 billion)," Alibaba said.

In 16 hours 31 minutes of the event going live on Monday, the total gross merchandise value (GMV) exceeded USD 31.82 billion (about RMB 223 billion), surpassing the total 2018 GMV of USD 30.8 billion. In 16 hours and 33 minutes, the number of delivery orders exceeded 1 billion, surpassing the total number of delivery orders of 2018 11.11, Alibaba said.

"This was 6 hours and 45 minutes faster than the time when the same record was achieved in 2018," the Chinese e-commerce giant said.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd on Monday kicked off the 2019 11.11 Global Shopping Festival at 0000 hours on Monday as per Chinese time.

In the first one minute and eight seconds, GMV settled through Alipay reached USD 1.0 billion (RMB 7.0 billion). In the first one hour, GMV settled through Alipay reached USD 12.0 billion (RMB 84.0 billion).

The shopping festival, also known as Double 11, will draw to a close at midnight.

The 11.11 shopping festival began in 2009 with participation from just 27 merchants as an event for merchants and consumers to raise awareness about the value of online shopping.

Talking about the evolution of 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, Chris Tung Chief Marketing Officer of Alibaba Group said the event has evolved from a promotional event into a global event.

Last year, it raked in a record USD 30.8 billion in GMV, eclipsing the Cyber Monday sales of USD 7.9 billion and Black Friday sales at USD 6.22 billion.

Some of the top countries selling to China by GMV included Japan, United States, South Korea, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom and France.

The event is also referred to as Singles' Day because of its date, 11/11 (November 11) consists of four 'ones', representing four singles, has emerged as the world's biggest shopping festival.

The 11.11 Global Shopping Festival Gala Celebration saw performance by Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and a host of other international and local celebrities.

More than 2 lakh brands from 78 countries and regions participated in 11.11 this year, with one million new products on offer.

E-commerce giant Alibaba's Singles' Day sales this year hit a new record of USD 38.38 billion.