China’s Singles Day destroys record as midday spending hits $21.5b

Photo credit: Pete Bellis / Unsplash

Another year, another new record.

China’s Singles Day shopping extravaganza just hit US$21.5 billion at the halfway point, according to data from Alibaba.

2017’s 24-hour total on Alibaba’s marketplaces reached US$25.3 billion, so this year’s online- only sales event is on course to destroy that grand total.

With nearly every Chinese online retailer participating, this year’s Singles Day will be bigger than Amazon’s Prime Day (US$4 billion), plus the US’ Black Friday (US$8 billion) and Cyber Monday (US$6.6 billion) combined.

Here’s how the world’s biggest shopping day has grown over the years: