During the Singles’ Day shopping festival in China, Alibaba’s total sales broke a record with $84.5 billion.

Alibaba’s Singles Day shopping festival in China broke a sales record of 540.3 billion yuan ($84.5 billion). As of the end of November 11, the company’s sales exceeded its 2020 level of 498.2 billion yuan.

This strong performance could ease the concerns of investors struggling with the 30 percent drop in stocks this year.

Singles’ Day Started in 2009

Since its launch in 2009, Singles’ Day has lagged behind Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the US in both density and size.

Alibaba turned the event into a commercial event by making huge price cuts to increase consumption and making headlines with celebrities like Taylor Swift in previous years. Singles’ Day sales in 2020 nearly doubled the previous year’s figure as Alibaba extended the event by a few days and added additional services.

This time around, however, the events were more placid as Alibaba sought to shift its attention from sales growth to President Xi Jinping’s drive towards sustainability and philanthropy, which are critical pillars for achieving the “common prosperity” goal.