Alibaba Singles' Day Sales Hit $28B

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA has earned $28 billion on Singles’ Day so far, data from the South China Morning Post shows.

What Happened

Sales crossed the $10 billion mark in the first 30 minutes, according to SCMP, with Hong Kong, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and Japan leading the overseas participation.

Singles’ Day is a shopping holiday in China celebrated on Nov. 11, and it used to be observed mostly by single men in college campuses across China. Alibaba popularized the holiday and made it into a “national showcase for online bargains,” according to SCMP.

The conglomerate hosted a countdown gala in Shanghai on Saturday to popularize the event, which included a performance from pop star Taylor Swift.

Last year, Alibaba earned $30 billion in sales during the holiday.

Why It Matters

Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales have been increasing every year, ever since it first launched the event in 2009, according to Reuters data.

Singles’ Day is the world’s largest shopping event by a margin, the data shows.

The overall sales on Cyber Monday, one of the U.S.’s largest online shopping festivals, were $7.9 billion in 2018, less than one-third of Singles’ Day in the same year.

Price Action

Alibaba’s shares closed at $187.16 on Friday.