Singles Day moves more money in the world than dates like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but Alibaba has not given details this 2022.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba did not release sales figures for its Singles’ Day for the first time amid an economic slowdown hurting demand.
Launched in 2009, Singles Day is the world’s biggest shopping festival, outselling similar dates like Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States.
Last year, Alibaba sold 540.3 billion yuan ($76.1 billion) and many waited to see if the company and other retailers could reach a sales record of 1 trillion yuan together.
But Alibaba said in a statement on Saturday that this year’s results were “in line with last year … despite macroeconomic challenges and the impact of COVID-19,” without giving details.
He added that some 290,000 brands participated in 2022, with different levels of discounts.
paradigm shifts
Research firm Syntum said on Friday that platforms including Alibaba and JD.com had combined sales of 262 billion yuan between 8:00 p.m. Thursday and 2:00 p.m. (0600 GMT) Friday.
The date, which began as a riotous consumer spree fueled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, has subsided in recent years amid Beijing’s controls on trading platforms and declining coverage by state media.
Consumers have also tightened their belts as Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy persists, which has led to wage cuts and disrupted supply chains.
The name of the date is a celebration of singleness inspired by the four ones, 11/11, to occur on November 11.
Alibaba is due to present its earnings report to its shareholders next week. (AFP)