China's Singles Day sales festival wraps up with sales growth
SHANGHAI: Alibaba Group reported that its Chinese e-commerce platforms Tmall and Taobao recorded "positive" year-on-year growth over this year's Singles Day sales period, which wrapped up at midnight on Saturday. Meanwhile competitor JD.com said its festival GMV (gross merchandising volume) hit a "record high" over the sales period. Originally a 24-hour online shopping event held on Nov. 11 each year in China, the 'Singles Day' festival - a nod to the digits in the date - has expanded into weeks of promotions across the country's major e-commerce platforms and in brick-and-mortar stores. This year marked the second time Alibaba has not disclosed the actual yuan value of its sales for its landmark festival, which this year celebrated its 15th anniversary. Last year, when sales were hit by continuing Covid curbs across China, was the first. The festival is closely watched as a gauge of consumer confidence, and expectations for sales gr...