Alibaba Sets Singles Day Record With At Least $10 Billion In Sales

• Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA were higher by nearly two percent early Wednesday morning.
• Alibaba said that it exceeded the $10 billion mark in gross merchandise volume sold during its annual Singles Day event.
• The company noted that it surpassed last year's $9.3 billion total with 14 hours still remaining in the sales event.

Alibaba Group holds an annual 24-hour online shopping sales event on November 11. The "11.11 Global Shopping Festival" began at midnight in China. The event is also referred to as "Singles Day." In 2014 Alibaba recorded $9.3 billion worth of sales through its eCommerce platform. In 2015, the company surpassed the $10 billion mark as of 2:05 PM China Time. This means that by the time Alibaba reached last year's total, there was nearly 10 hours of shopping left in the sales event. Alibaba generated $5 billion in sales through its platform in the first 90 minutes of 11.11 this year. Mobile transactions accounted for 72 percent of the total gross merchandise during this timeframe. Singles Day is by far the world's largest shopping day. According to Tech Crunch, total US Thanksgiving shopping topped $1 billion and Black Friday topped $1.5 billion, representing a year over year growth rate of 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively. "This year, Alibaba Group has transformed 11.11 into an unprecedented mobile shopping experience," Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba said in a press release. "Over the course of the 24-hour shopping marathon, consumers will have a new surprise every hour that has been especially tailored for mobile users. The whole world will witness the power of Chinese consumption this November 11." The company also noted that almost 130 million users visited Alibaba's Mobile Taobao app – exceeding last year's peak volume during the Shopping Festival.