Alibaba's Singles' Day Presales Skyrocket With Live Streaming Boost, Stock Inches Higher Ahead of Shopping Extravaganza

Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA stock traded higher Thursday as Taobao and Tmall Group on Tuesday commenced presales for its Singles' Day promotion with a group of live streamers.

The live streamers included top influencer Austin Li Jiaqi and actor-singer Allen Lin Yilun, each yielding over 100 million yuan ($14 million) in total sales by midnight, SCMP cites from company data. 

Within an hour after its presales started, Taobao and Tmall Group's mainland platforms recorded over 200% year-on-year increase in turnover for 1,300 brands, while sales of nearly 700 brands grew over five times.

China's top live streamer Li, also known as "Lipstick King," distributed random cash prizes of up to 100 yuan each to his online audience on top of the discounts already offered by Taobao and Tmall Group.

Alibaba's aggressive live-streaming strategy reflects the increased competition on Singles' Day, referring to the traditional 24-hour shopping extravaganza on November 11.

Li recorded over 100 million viewers within about 30 minutes after presales started, according to SCMP.

The group is offering over 80 million products at their lowest prices on the 15th anniversary of Singles' Day.

E-commerce rival JD.Com, Inc JD kicked off its Singles' Day campaign this year ahead of Alibaba, showcasing its vast inventory of over 800 million products available for immediate purchase.

User orders and overall transaction volume were up four times on last year's figures within 10 minutes of its campaign's start on Monday.

Chinese stocks also got a boost from reports over Beijing's stimulus plan as the country grappled with a lackluster economy worsened by the U.S. semiconductor sanctions.

Price Action: BABA shares traded higher by 0.43% at $81.38 premarket on the last check Thursday.