Chinese Online Retailer Alibaba Sets a New Record with $8 Billion USD in Sales in a Single Day

Chinese online retailer Alibaba is not afraid to make waves. After putting the world on notice with an IPO valuing the company at $168 billion (for reference, Amazon had a valuation of $438 million when they went public), Alibaba has just set a new earth-shattering record with $8 billion USD in sales in just 24 hours. Coinciding with Single’s Day – a Chinese shopping holiday billed as an “anti-Valentines” day held on November 11 – the landmark figure sets a new precedent in retail sales, and easily breaks the previous record of $5.8 billion, set by Alibaba during last year’s Single’s Day. Fun fact: $2 billion worth of sales were made in the first hour alone.