Alibaba hits record e-commerce sales

(UPI) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., China's largest e-commerce company, hit record sales on China's biggest shopping day of the year, exceeding 35 billion yuan or $5.75 billion.

This compares with 19.1 billion yuan the year prior. November 11 is Singles' Day, the Chinese equivalent to Cyber Monday, which is the Monday after Thanksgiving when retailers offer large discounts. Americans last year spent $2.5 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, less than the total of Alibaba's transactions on Monday.

Singles' Day is China's "Hallmark holiday" similar to Valentine's Day, when the unmarried buy gifts for significant singles in their lives or seek solace by investing in comfort gear, such as electronic devices. Nov. 11, or 11/11, stands for four lonely singles. But the tradition has extended beyond singles.

Alibaba's site reported 402 million unique visitors Monday, more than one-third the adult population in China.

But the day's significance isn't just about the holiday, nor is it just about the company. It points to larger trends in China's economic growth.

"Behind the numbers we can see the power of the market," said Chairman Jack Ma to reporters Monday at the company headquarters in Hangzhou. The sales reflected strengthening of Chinese brands and rising Chinese consumer confidence. Global brands including Nike, Gap and Estee Lauder also enjoyed the Singles' Day hype.

While China's brick-and-mortar presence struggles, e-commerce presents an opportunity to stir Chinese retail markets. Companies similar to Alibaba also strove to profit off Singles' Day sales.

Alibaba is poised to file an initial public offering in the U.S. after reportedly giving up trying to list on a Hong Kong exchange. It could be the largest tech IPO since Facebook, which went public last year at $16 billion. Yahoo owns a 24 percent stake in the company, and Yahoo shares rose 0.2 percent Monday.