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.

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

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Don’t buy the Meta Quest Pro for gaming. It’s a metaverse headset first
Meta Quest Pro enables 3D modeling in mixed reality.

Last week’s Meta Connect started off promising on the gaming front. Viewers got release dates for Iron Man VR, an upcoming Quest game that was previously a PS VR exclusive, as well as Among Us VR. Meta, which owns Facebook, also announced that it was acquiring three major VR game studios -- Armature Studio, Camouflaj Team, and Twisted Pixel -- although we don’t know what they’re working on just yet.

Unfortunately, that’s where the Meta Connect's gaming section mostly ended. Besides tiny glimpses and a look into fitness, video games were not the show's focus. Instead, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wanted to focus on what seemed to be his company’s real vision of VR's future, which involves a lot of legs and a lot of work with the Quest Pro, a mixed reality headset that'll cost a whopping $1,500.

Read more
Meet the game-changing pitching robot that can perfectly mimic any human throw
baseball hitter swings and misses

Who’s your favorite baseball pitcher? Shane McClanahan? Sandy Alcantara? Justin Verlander? Whoever you said, two of the top sports-tech companies in the U.S. -- Rapsodo and Trajekt Sports -- have teamed up to build a robot version of them, and the results are reportedly uncannily accurate.

Okay, so we’re not talking about walking-talking-pitching standalone robots, as great a sci-fi-tinged MLB ad as that would be. However, Rapsodo and Trajekt have combined their considerable powers to throw a slew of different technologies at the problem of building a machine that's able to accurately simulate the pitching style of whichever player you want to practice batting against -- and they may just have pulled it off, too.

Read more
The best portable power stations
EcoFlow DELTA 2 on table at campsite for quick charging.

Affordable and efficient portable power is a necessity these days, keeping our electronic devices operational while on the go. But there are literally dozens of options to choose from, making it abundantly difficult to decide which mobile charging solution is best for you. We've sorted through countless portable power options and came up with six of the best portable power stations to keep your smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other gadgets functioning while living off the grid.
The best overall: Jackery Explorer 1000

Jackery has been a mainstay in the portable power market for several years, and today, the company continues to set the standard. With three AC outlets, two USB-A, and two USB-C plugs, you'll have plenty of options for keeping your gadgets charged.

Read more