Alibaba, JD smash Singles Day record with $139 billion of sales and focus on social responsibility
Summary
GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com set new sales records across their platforms on Singles Day, the largest shopping event in the world. The record sales come despite worries about the strength of the Chinese consumer and the impact of Beijings crackdown on technology companies. While Singles Day, also called Double 11, used to just be a 24-hour flash sale type of affair, it has transformed into a multi-day extravaganza, ending at midnight on Nov. 11. "This 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, we delivered steady and quality growth that is a reflection of the dynamic Chinese consumption economy," Yang Guang, vice president at Alibaba, said in a press release. JD meanwhile said it reduced carbon emissions by 26,000 tons during this Singles Day period compared with last year, highlighting its environmental credentials.