The Chinese took advantage of huge sales to spend in online shops, including Alibaba, dizzying amounts in seconds.
68 seconds: this is the time that Chinese consumers spent in the night from Sunday to Monday to spend their first billion dollars online during the traditional “Celebration of Singles”, considered to be the world’s largest sales transaction.
At exactly 12 o’clock, millions of consumers have rushed to their computer or their mobile phone in the hope of benefiting from attractive discounts on a whole range of products, from electronics to ready-to-wear, via shoes or furnishings.
Alibaba and other Chinese e-commerce groups have adopted the habit since 2009 of announcing discounts every November 11, the day nicknamed the “Singles’ Day” due to the repetition of the number “one” (11/11)
This shopping spree exceeds in value that of “Black Friday”, the Friday following the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of November in the United States. The Bachelor Party, which is said to have strong purchasing power, is thus the largest global event in the distribution sector.
The vigor of purchases scrutinized
On Alibaba’s platforms alone, 7 billion yuan ($ 1 billion) was spent in the space of 68 seconds … even faster than last year, when this milestone had been reached in 85 seconds. This figure corresponds to the total value of goods purchased on these platforms, including shipping costs.
The milestone of 100 billion yuan (14 billion francs) was crossed in one hour, 3 minutes and 59 seconds exactly, 43 minutes less than last year, assured Alibaba, which alone represents half of the electronic commerce in China.
The strength of November 11 purchases is scrutinized by economists who seek clues to the strength of the country’s economy, plagued by the trade war launched by the United States of Donald Trump.
Almost 30 billion
Last year’s total sales for November 11 reported by Alibaba reported 213.5 billion yuan (29.6 billion euros) in sales in 24 hours.
This was a slowdown in the rate of progression from one year to the next: turnover had indeed increased by only 27% in 2017, against 39% the previous year.
The group of the eccentric billionaire Jack Ma, who has just retired, hopes to raise 15 billion US dollars in Hong Kong, during an initial public offering which could intervene soon.
According to Singles Day Nederland, 11.11 is also becoming very popular in the Netherlands in the last years. Even local marketplaces like Media Markt, Cool Blue, Bol.com, and even Wehkamp are taking part in the singles day deals.
