Alibaba turned Singles Day into an online shopping holiday in 2009, and in less than a decade the ecommerce event is a cultural phenomenon in China, and a $70 billion sales event for Alibaba. This chart shows Alibaba's GMV on Singles' Day each year from 2009-20.

What is Singles Day?

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2009 turned it into an online shopping holiday, similar to Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) in the U.S. In the first year, 27 merchants participated and $8 million worth of goods were sold on Alibaba’s marketplaces. Since then, Singles Day has grown into something of a cultural phenomenon in China that generates more online sales than Cyber Monday and Black Friday combined. This year, gross merchandise value crossed $70 billion on Alibaba’s marketplaces alone.

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