News

Industries

Companies

Jobs

Events

People

Video

Audio

Galleries

My Biz

Submit content

My Account

Advertise with us

Internet News China

Subscribe & Follow

Advertise your job vacancies
    Search jobs

    China Singles Day sees shoppers spend US$5.7bn

    BEIJING, CHINA: Chinese shoppers spent a record 35bn yuan (US$5.7bn) at the country's biggest online marketplaces on Singles Day, their operator said on Tuesday (12 November), after the festival created by e-retailers to persuade the loveless to console themselves with some retail therapy.
    At least US$5,7bn spent on China's Singles Day. Image: Scottchan
    At least US$5,7bn spent on China's Singles Day. Image: Scottchan Free Digital Photos

    November 11 - or 11.11 - was proclaimed as "singles' day" because of the number of ones in the date, with sellers promoting discounts to the nation's singles as well as price-sensitive buyers. It is now China's busiest shopping day.

    Consumers snapped up everything from mobile phones and cars to diamond rings, reports said.

    They spent 35.0 billion yuan on Tmall and Taobao, the two shopping platforms of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. "The spending spree was 83% higher than last year," the company said in a statement.

    Final sales figures not out yet

    The figure was was more than 10 times higher than the average daily turnover on the two virtual marketplaces last year, according to a research report cited by Chinese media.

    "More than 402m users visited the two sites on Monday (11 November), double last year's number," Alibaba added.

    "It was crazy buying stuff on Taobao during 11.11 -- just like picking up things for free," said a user on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

    Sales figures from other retailers are yet to be announced, but analysts estimated the combined value of transactions on the country's top 10 operators would exceed 80bn yuan, the state-run Economic Information Daily reported.

    The best selling items included mobile phones, insurance policies, sweaters and underwear. Reports said that one car retailer had sold more than 13,000 cars worth two billion yuan by Monday afternoon.

    According to the official Xinhua news agency, a woman identified only by her surname Huang paid 5m yuan as a deposit at a Tmall store for a 13.3-carat diamond ring with a 20.5m yuan price tag.

    Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge

    Source: I-Net Bridge

    For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

    We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

    Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
    Let's do Biz