Alibaba Set To Shatter Last Year's Singles Day Sales Record: Report

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s BABA "Singles Day" shopping extravaganza on Nov. 11 is likely to break previous years’ sales record as Chinese shoppers are determined to spend more, according to a survey conducted by consulting firm AlixPartners.

What Happened: Spending at the event is likely to break previous records as 39% of the consumers said they plan to spend more on Singles Day this year compared with last year, the survey results show, as reported by CNBC.

Sixty-six percent of 2,029 Chinese consumers polled by AlixPartners reportedly said they would be shopping for Chinese brands instead of foreign ones during the event.

Foreign brands are likely to take a hit at this year’s shopping event, as 57% of Chinese shoppers said they plan to spend less money on American brands and 39% plan to trim expenses on European products, according to the survey.

AlixPartners Managing Director David Garfield attributed the shift away from American products to the feeling among Chinese consumers that they can get similar benefits elsewhere and “genuine advancement on the part of Chinese manufacturers.”

“They’re getting more sophisticated in their marketing of luxury products,” said Garfield. 

Why It Matters: Last year, Alibaba and JD.com, Inc JD raked in over $68 billion in record Singles Day sales.

The 24-hour sale saw 1.3 billion orders processed on the Jack Ma-led company's platform. Over 200,000 brands participated in the sale.

Vendors from Japan, the United States, Germany, Australia, and South Korea took part in the shopping fiesta, along with local Chinese vendors.

Price Action: Alibaba shares closed 3.35% higher at $317.14 on Tuesday and fell 0.23% in the after-hours session.