E-commerce Companies in China Boost Shopper Numbers During Singles' Day

Alibaba Group, China's largest e-commerce company, announced "strong growth" in sales and a "record number" of shoppers during this year's Singles' Day sales period, which lasted for a week and ended at midnight on Monday.

The company did not disclose the total sales revenue for the period, but mentioned that 45 brands, including Apple, Haier, Midea, and Xiaomi, exceeded 1 billion yuan in sales.

JD.com, China's second-largest e-commerce company, did not provide specific sales data, but reported that the number of shoppers during the event increased by more than 20% year-on-year.

Data provider Syntun estimated that sales across major e-commerce platforms during last year's sales period rose by 2.08% to reach 1.14 trillion yuan. So far, third-party forecasts for this year's festival have not been released.

Initially a 24-hour online shopping event held on November 11 each year in China—referencing the date's numerical representation—the Singles' Day festival has evolved into weeks of promotions across the country's leading e-commerce platforms and brick-and-mortar stores. This year's festival, which started on October 14, is notable for being the longest one to date.