Alibaba marked a new milestone in its Singles' Day history after it topped last year's $30 billion sales. In this year's sales festival, the e-commerce giant hauled in $38.4 billion, with global brands including L'Oréal, Apple, and Nestlé benefiting largely from the event.
According to Forbes, the Chinese online retail platform revealed 13 international companies that grossed over $143 million during the 24-hour shopping spree: L'Oréal, H&M, Nestlé, Esteé Lauder, Apple, The North Face, MUJI, Uniqlo, Levi's Philips, Bose, Nike, and Gap.
There were also food and beverage brands that sold well during the event, including Mondelez and Starbucks. In China, the electronic gadget brands that saw success during the event are Xiaomi and Huawei.
Even before the day concluded, the company already posted a large volume of sales that marked another historical break in the country's e-commerce industry.
Alibaba posted sales exceeding $20 billion in the first nine hours of Singles' Day on Monday. The figure marks another milestone for the Chinese e-commerce giant as the 158.31 billion yuan sales is a 25 percent increase from last year's sales.
According to Reuters, while the numbers are significant compared to last year's Singles' Day festive sales event, it is still the slowest growth rate in the event's overall run since chairman and chief executive Daniel Zhang introduced the 11/11 day 10 years ago.
Industry experts noted that Alibaba may need to search for new ideas amid slowing growth in China as well as global trade tensions that continue to affect consumption numbers around the world.
On the other hand, the company's milestone is still worth all the effort of bringing in international pop star Taylor Swift to join the festivities. During the first minute of the 24-hour event, sales already reached $1 billion.
Global markets have been watching Alibaba's every move as it is expected that the online retail giant will come home for a Hong Kong listing before November ends. Monday's sales will play a major role in getting investors excited for the home listing.
The company previously announced that it is expecting Singles' Day 2019 to see around 500 million participants who will take advantage of the event's promotions and purchase packages.
Among the mainland China locations that recorded the top five most transactions during the event are Shandong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Shanghai. Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, also joined the top five overseas regions that joined the purchasing spree, the South China Morning Post reported.
EY Greater China digital advisory leader, Benson Ng, pointed out that Singles' Day is a show of China's consumer power and it is gradually becoming recognized on the global stage as more overseas buyers participate yearly.
This year's Singles' Day in Alibaba is particularly special. Not only is it the first time the company is spending the festive sales event without former founder and chief executive Jack Ma stepped down on his birthday in September.
This year's event also opened international channels for the first time since 11:11 kicked off in 2009. The platforms where purchases outside China can be made are Lazada and AliExpress.
