High online trade sales on Singles' Day

China's online retail giant Alibaba says it has pulled in 9.3billion USD in sales from its annual 'Singles' Day' shopping event, BBC reports.

On Tuesday, the firm said that its sales had reached 57.1 billion yuan, and that it had shipped 278 million orders – 43% of which were placed on mobile devices.

Last year, Alibaba recorded sales of $5.75bn, shipping 150 million packages.

Singles' Day is the world's biggest online retail sales day. The day was originally marketed as an “anti-Valentine's Day” in China, featuring hefty discounts to lure the country's singletons and price-sensitive buyers.

It was expanded globally this year to include more than 27,000 overseas brands and merchants as well as customers from more than 217 countries and regions. (portfolio.hu)