Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba, made over US$84.54 billion in sales during the November 11 "Singles Day" event, one of the biggest one-day online shopping events in the world.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said this year's sales was a "new high," surpassing 2020's gross merchandise sales of US$74.1 billion.

"Alibaba’s two-week shopping blitz already dwarfs all other retail events on earth, but this year was by far its largest edition to date, bringing together at least 900 million Chinese consumers and 290,000 brands," Alibaba said in a statement. 

"Very vibrant" e-commerce market

Michael Evans, Alibaba Group president, noted that the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to brands and retailers but also accelerated their digital transformation, shown in the various brands’ consumer engagement strategies during this year’s 11.11 festival.

"The e-commerce environment continues to be very vibrant," Evans said. "China remains an incredibly important market for brands to find growth today but also for growth in the future."

Chris Tung, Alibaba’s chief marketing officer noted that 11.11’s "true value" goes beyond sales figures to how it can play a part in building the future of consumption.

"11.11 is about how to best leverage Alibaba’s latest technology to support brands and merchants in driving sustainable and inclusive growth in more efficient ways," Tung said.

Alibaba noted that more than 2.5 million consumers purchased green products during the shopping festival.

Alibaba said its logistics subsidiary, Cainiao, also used e-shipping labels to replace traditional paper sheets for over 1.2 billion parcels, while 15 million parcels shipped from its warehouses were delivered in their original boxes or using biodegradable, plastic-free packaging. 

The company said its green logistics push has helped reduce carbon emissions by 18,000 tons in this year's 11.11 festival.

The Single's Day shopping craze is akin to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the US but introduced locally by Alibaba's e-platform Tmall on Nov. 11, 2009.