Alibaba Breaks Singles Day Sales Record

For those Australian merchants who signed up to the event, on average, above 70% of sales came from mobile, compared to 50% last year

by Power Retail

November 2017; Power Retail


Australia was one of the highest selling countries to transact at this year’s 2017 11.11 Global Shopping Festival on Alibaba Group’s online platform.

On Saturday, 11th November Alibaba Group generated nearly US $25.3 billion of gross merchandise volume (GMV) during its 24-hour 11.11 Global Shopping Festival this year, up 39% from 2016, which saw participation from more than 140,000 brands.

This year, 60,000 international brands and merchants from 225 countries were available online to Chinese consumers, with Australia faring as one of the top selling countries during the event, coming in fourth, behind China, Japan and the United States, with Germany and South Korea 
fifth and sixth.

“More than US $25 billion of GMV in one day is not just a sales figure,” says Daniel Zhang, chief executive of Alibaba Group. “It represents the aspiration for quality consumption of the Chinese consumer, and it reflects how merchants and consumers alike have now fully embraced the integration of online and offline retail.”

Alipay processed 1.48 billion total payment transactions, up 41% from 2016, and processed 256,000 
transactions per second at peak, with mobile GMV accounting for 90% of total GMV, an 8% spike from last year. For those Australian merchants who signed up to the event, on average, above 70% of sales came from mobile, compared to 50% last year, according to e-commerce solutions vendor Azoya.

“Although this year more international brands and retailers joined in the 11.11 sales event, the top-selling categories were still clothes, shoes, cosmetics and consumer electronic products,” says Sylvia Wei, deputy managing director at Azoya.

In the first 2 minutes after the event kick-off, Alibaba generated US $1 billion of total GMV and its first delivery arrived 12 minutes and 18 seconds after it commenced.

In the first hour, more than 60 brands each generated more than US $15.1 million in sales, including Apple, Estée Lauder, Gap, L’Oreal, Nike, Samsung, Uniqlo and Zara.

In the hours leading up to the shopping event, Alibaba hosted its third annual gala to celebrate the official launch of the festival. Viewers were able to experience the gala live via Youku, the Tmall and Taobao mobile apps, YouTube as well as across China through several commercial television stations.

This year, the gala featured celebrity appearances and performances from Pharrell Williams, Nicole Kidman, Maria Sharapova and Jessie J.

2017 11.11 Global Shopping Festival Key Highlights alibaba group

Official Launch Gala of the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival

Below are some of the key highlights from the 2017 11.11 Global Shopping Festival:

  • Total GMV settled through Alipay was RMB168.2 billion (US $25.3 billion), an increase of 39% compared to 2016

  • Total mobile GMV settled through Alipay was approximately 90% of total GMV, compared to 82% last year

  • More than 140,000 participating brands and merchants

  • Alipay processed 1.48 billion total payment transactions, up 41% from 2016, and processed 256,000 
transactions per second at peak

  • Alibaba Cloud processed 325,000 orders per second at peak

  • Cainiao Network processed 812 million total delivery orders

  • The first delivery arrived 12 minutes and 18 seconds after midnight 
60,000 international brands and merchants available to Chinese consumers

  • 225 countries and regions with completed transactions

  • 167 merchants each generated more than RMB100 million (US$15.1 million) in sales, 17 merchants 
surpassed RMB500 million (US$75.4 million) in sales, and 6 merchants surpassed RMB1 billion 
(US$150.9 million) in sales

  • Top countries selling to China include: Japan, United States, Australia, Germany, South Korea

About the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival 

The 11.11 shopping festival began in 2009 with participation from 27 merchants as an event for merchants and consumers to raise awareness of the value in online shopping. Last year, nearly 100,000 brands and merchants participated in the global shopping event, with consumers spending US$17.8 billion during the 24-hour period.


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