A screen on stage shows the gross merchandise volume on platforms operated by Alibaba Group reaching 372.3 billion yuan (US$56.4 billion) in the 10 days leading up to Singles Day on Nov 11, 2020 through its first 30 minutes. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINADAILY.COM.CN)

HANGZHOU - China's Alibaba said orders on its e-commerce platforms during the Singles' Day shopping extravaganza had exceeded US$70 billion by Wednesday evening, as lockdown-weary consumers splashed out on as many as 16 million discounted goods.

The world's biggest sales event - eclipsing Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States - spans four main days this year, and so far has brought sellers 16 times as many orders by value than Amazon.com Inc's two-day global Prime Day last month.

Such is its size that its performance is widely considered indicative of China's post-virus economic recovery.

"Because of COVID-19, many Chinese cannot go overseas," Vice-President Liu Bo told reporters. "This actually stimulates online consumption."

The performance will likely come as a relief to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd a week since it lost about 10 percent of its market value after regulators pulled the listing of financial technology affiliate Ant Group.

As of 8:05 pm (1305 GMT) on Nov 11, GMV had hit 467.5 billion yuan (US$70.59 billion), Alibaba said. Earlier, it said orders were peaking at a record 583,000 per second

The sale also comes amid an economic rebound with the spread of the novel coronavirus in China under control, while border closures abroad have meant more consumers spending at home. 

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Alibaba, which launched the shopping event in 2009, began the sale early this year to give lesser-known brands more exposure. It scheduled primary discount days for Nov 1 through Nov 3 as well as the usual Nov 11, and will calculate gross merchandise volume (GMV) over the 11 days, rather than 24 hours.

The event, launched in 2009, is usually a splashy, single-day affair with live performances and which last year clocked record GMV of $38.4 billion. This year, Katy Perry appeared at Alibaba's gala, albeit via livestream.

As well as offering straightforward price cuts, the event sees shoppers across Alibaba's numerous platforms playing mobile games for deals, combining purchases across shops and placing orders in the sale's early hours to get the best offers.

As of 8:05 pm (1305 GMT) on Nov 11, GMV had hit 467.5 billion yuan (US$70.59 billion), Alibaba said. Earlier, it said orders were peaking at a record 583,000 per second. 

Over 2 million products featured in the sale for the first time - double last year, when GMV for Nov 11 reached a record US$38.4 billion.

Luxury boon

Over 340 firms, including Apple Inc, L'Oreal SA, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Nike Inc, have exceeded 100 million yuan in sales, and 13 brands have recorded GMV above 1 billion yuan, Alibaba said.

Japan's Fast Retailing Co Ltd said its Uniqlo brand ranked top for womenswear and menswear on Alibaba marketplace Tmall.

Top categories of imported products by GMV as of 9:00 am were food supplements, infant milk formula and beauty. Sun Jian, event head of logistics, told reporters Alibaba was sanitizing all parcels from abroad given the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rivals JD.com Inc  and Pinduoduo Inc as well as firms such as Douyin - the Chinese version of Beijing ByteDance Technology Co Ltd's TikTok - are also holding events for Singles' Day, which falls on the 11th day of the 11th month.

JD.com, which started its shopping promotions on Nov 1, said orders as of 2:26 pm had set a record of 243.1 billion yuan while electronics retailer Suning.com Co Ltd said it made 5 billion yuan in sales in the first 19 minutes of the day

JD.com, which started its shopping promotions on Nov 1, said orders as of 2:26 pm had set a record of 243.1 billion yuan, while electronics retailer Suning.com Co Ltd - part-owned by Alibaba - said it made 5 billion yuan in sales within the first 19 minutes.

READ MORE: China's US$136b e-commerce haul signals consumer comeback

Boon for luxury

Singles' Day was trending on China's Twitter-like Weibo, while a poll of Singles' Day spending by Sina Entertainment found 44 percent of 174,000 respondents aimed to spend less than 1,000 yuan versus 4 percent who planned to splurge over 10,000 yuan.

Still, analysts expect this year to be a boon for luxury brands, as Chinese consumers accustomed to going overseas to buy high-end goods are stuck at home due to border closures.

"The lack of consumer tourism which has hit European and U.S. stalwarts like Harrods, Galeries Lafayette and Nordstroms will likely see bigger spending locally," retail analyst Andy Halliwell at consultancy Publicis Sapient said in a client note.

Livestreaming with telegenic hosts hawking products in real-time was a common feature of this year's Singles' Day, continuing a trend which started about two years ago.

At a building close to Alibaba's Hangzhou headquarters, where rooms had been converted into filming studios, dozens of livestreamers chatted incessantly to viewers about Singles' Day promotions and the merits of the goods they were selling.

Luo Lima, who sells diapers and other maternity products, estimated she had been on camera for 24 hours over the course of this year's sales period, versus six hours on Singles' Day two years ago.

"We stream continuously for six hours, with no break," she said. "Basically we start by eating a full meal, and getting in a good state of mind. We also prepare throat lozenges and vitamin drinks."