Skip to main content

Alibaba Singles’ Day sales hit $1 billion in the first minute

The 24-hour online shopping craziness that is Singles’ Day got off to a flying start on Monday, November 11, when Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced that sales hit $1 billion in the first minute alone. Yes, you read that right — $1 billion worth of sales in the first 60 seconds.

At the time of writing, with the day reaching the halfway mark, sales via Alibaba have already topped $27 billion, putting it $4 billion short of smashing through the $31 billion record achieved during last year’s Singles’ Day. And that sum doesn’t even include other online retailers such as JD.com that are also seeking to cash in on the event.

Related Videos

Singles’ Day originated in China as a way for those without a significant other to enjoy special events together and splash out on themselves. In recent years it’s transformed into a massive shopping event that scores way more online sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined as folks snap up bargains that include consumer electronics and luxury goods, and plenty more besides.

Alibaba said it expects more than half a billion people globally to hit the buy button during Monday’s shopping frenzy, an increase of around 100 million over last year.

In recent years, Alibaba has launched the event with a glitzy TV show featuring stars both local and international, and this year was no different, with special guests including Taylor Swift and Asian pop star G.E.M.on hand to help increase the hype.

But the shopping festival doesn’t come without criticism, with Alibaba having been slammed for harming the environment with so many packages shipping in such a short space of time. In a bid to make amends, the company has this year set up recycling centers at 75,000 locations, while also working with courier companies to collect used boxes and wrapping. JD.com, too, says it is using more recyclable materials than ever before to ship its packages.

If you missed out on Singles’ Day but have a few spare bucks in the bank for Black Friday later this month, read on to find out how you can give yourself the best chance of snagging some of the great bargains set to land. And don’t forget Cyber Monday, too, which presents another great opportunity for you to make a significant dent in your savings.

Editors' Recommendations

Samsung partners with Best Buy for free same-day pickup
Samsung Galaxy S20 in black, blue, pink, and gray colors.

Samsung has expanded its recent partnership with Best Buy to offer same-day pickup for customers purchasing items from the Samsung online store. 

The new “Get it Today” service allows customers to purchase select Samsung products directly from the company’s website and arrange to pick them up for free within just a few hours at their local Best Buy. 

Read more
Amazon is spending big in an effort to ensure timely holiday deliveries
couple con amazon out of tech goods boxes

Amazon says it expects to incur “several billion dollars” of additional costs this holiday season in order to ensure customers receive their orders on time.

Andy Jassy, who replaced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as CEO of the company in July, said this week that the online shopping behemoth would be spending big to deal with “labor supply shortages, increased wage costs, global supply chain issues, and increased freight and shipping costs.” The spending is meant to ensure there is minimal impact on customers and selling partners in the coming months.

Read more
This Amazon facility worth $1.5B is aiming to speed up your deliveries
boston couple unwanted amazon deliveries package

Amazon this week opened its $1.5 billion air hub in northern Kentucky, a massive facility that will enable the e-commerce giant to take even more control of its ever-expanding shipping operation as part of ongoing efforts to speed up customer deliveries.

The facility at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will serve as the central hub for Amazon Air’s U.S. cargo network, processing millions of customer packages every week. Up to 100 Amazon-branded planes can use the facility at any one time, with as many as 200 Amazon flights per day coming in and out. Several thousand jobs have been created by its opening.

Read more