Singles Day 2016: Chinese to Spend $20BN In World’s Biggest Shopping Event

Alibaba looks set to smash the sales record for its annual Singles Day event.

About 12 hours into the event, sales had reached 82.4 billion yuan ($12.1 billion), the e-commerce giant said. Last year’s record was $14.3 billion.

However, some have questioned the accuracy of the numbers, amid claims of inflated sales data at online retailers across China.

Merchants passing off counterfeit goods as genuine is also an industry problem.

Alibaba reported 85% of purchases had been made on mobile phones during Singles Day.

The website has also been experimenting with new technology including augmented reality and virtual reality to give shoppers other ways of buying items.

Singles Day had a blistering start with sales hitting $5 billion in the first hour, Alibaba said, though that total included pre-orders made by customers who could “lock in” prices.

It took 90 minutes to hit that milestone in 2015.

Singles Day is held every year on November 11. The day is also referred to as Double Eleven (11/11) because of its date.

Originally claimed as a celebration for China’s young singletons, Alibaba turned it into a shopping bonanza in 2009.

While Alibaba is undeniably the driving force behind the event, other retailers have also stared to piggyback off the idea, including extending the concept to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Alibaba’s rival JD.com, which focuses more on electronics, reported receiving more orders in the first nine hours of trading on November 11 than it had done during the whole of Singles Day 2014.