Katy Perry was a late no-show but Alibaba’s Singles Day was no damp squib, chalking up $1bn of sales in less than five minutes and hitting $9.2bn in the first eight hours as Chinese shoppers snapped up online bargains.
The event, the biggest in the global retail calendar, was preceded by a musical extravaganza in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen that combined local and international celebrities — including basketball star Kobe Bryant, actress Scarlett Johansson and footballer David Beckham — with adverts and buying opportunities.
During the live-streamed show audiences participated in games by shaking, scanning and tapping their phones more than 6.8bn times, Alibaba said.
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