Alibaba keeps Singles Day sales tally under wraps
E-commerce giant Alibaba has not released full sales figures for its annual Singles Day event for the first time ever, as a cooling economy dampened demand. Launched in 2009, Singles Day is the world's largest shopping festival, dwarfing similar events in the US such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday in terms of sales. Alibaba's sales last year hit 540.3 billion yuan, and many were watching to see if the company and other retailers taking part could combine for a record one trillion yuan in sales. In a statement on Saturday, Alibaba said results for this year's event were "in line with last year's... despite macro challenges and Covid-related impact," without offering details. Some 290,000 brands participated in 2022, it added, with merchants offering varying levels of discounts starting as early as late October. Once a festival of frenzied consumption led by Alibaba's founder Jack Ma, Singles Day has been more muted in recent years amid a tightening of regulations for online platforms and waning state media coverage. Consumers are also tightening their belts as the Covid pandemic rumbles on in the mainland. Conceived by Alibaba, the event's title riffs on a tongue-in-cheek celebration of singlehood inspired by the four ones – 11/11 – that denote its date of November 11. (AFP)