China-based e-commerce giant Alibaba has once again set a new world record for generating at least 268.4 billion yuan on its 24-hour sale event, Single’s Day 2019.
Singles Day is the world’s largest 24-hour marketing event, and Alibaba’s sales for this year have surpassed its last year recorded sales of 213.5 billion yuan record (nearly $30.5 billion). The event was held on Monday afternoon, local time. The Day got off to a strong start for Alibaba. GMV hit $12.01 billion in the first hour. Within an hour and a half, Alibaba’s sales exceeded the total reached on Singles Day in 2016.
With $38.3 billion in sales, Alibaba was able to raise its record-breaking revenue by around 26% from its last year’s performance. However, that is a lower rate in terms of growth that was recorded last year, which was 27% from the previous year.
This year’s Single’s Day Sale is also called the Double 11 Sale is the eleventh year that the Chinese company, owned by Jack Ma, is celebrating the event. Other e-commerce sites, especially in Southeast Asia, are celebrating 11/11 with some sort of a site-wide sale event similar to the Black Friday sale in the United States.
It seems like the changes in the strategy of the company has proved effective in this year’s sale event. To help boost sales, Hangzhou-based Alibaba expanded the number of discounted items and capitalized on live streaming via its platforms to help sell goods. Livestreaming has become a popular marketing strategy among China-based e-commerce platforms in recent years.
Alibaba’s new record comes as it faces a slowing Chinese economy and stiff competition from domestic rivals. It also comes in a time when the United States and China are in a never-ending row involving the trade war.
