A screen shows sales totals at the end of the Singles' Day shopping festival at the 2020 Tmall Global Shopping Festival media centre in Hangzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province late on November 11, 2020. (STR / AFP)

BEIJING/SHANGHAI - Alibaba and JD.com said the United States was the top seller of goods to China during the Singles' Day shopping extravaganza that generated about US$116 billion in merchandise volume for the pair.

Singles’ Day is usually a one-day sales event, the world’s biggest, eclipsing Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States. Many online companies offer deals at the event.

Singles’ Day is usually a one-day sales event, the world’s biggest, eclipsing Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States. Many online companies offer deals at the event

This year, companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and JD.com Inc offered promotions over several days, with sales widely interpreted as indicative of China's rebounding post-virus economy.

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Customers, unable to travel abroad because of the COVID-19 pandemic, snatched up deals from brands including Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Fast Retailing Co Ltd's Uniqlo.

Alibaba generated gross merchandise volume (GMV) of 498.2 billion yuan (US$75.28 billion). JD.com, which recorded 271.5 billion yuan in GMV, told Reuters on Wednesday that best-selling products included Apple Inc iPhones, L'Oreal SA's Lancome toner and 60-inch smart LCD TVs from Sharp Corp.

Alibaba offered promotions in two windows starting Nov. 1 but calculated GMV over 11 days. JD.com offered deals Nov 1 through Nov 11.

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Alibaba said other top-selling countries this year included Australia, Germany, Japan and South Korea. Over 470 firms exceeded 100 million yuan in GMV. Last year, Alibaba merely named Japan and the United States among biggest sellers.

Alibaba clocked GMV of US$38.4 billion in a single day last year and said 299 brands surpassed 100 million yuan in GMV, including Nestle SA and Under Armour Inc.