China’s Singles’ Day brings in a record-breaking $30 billion

Singles’ Day is (also known as “Double 11” because it takes place on November 11, or 11/11 every year) is a Chinese holiday that began in 1993 and celebrates the pride in being alone, or single. The shopping holiday took place on Sunday and smashed its previous record of $25 billion in sales in 2017. 2018’s Singles’ Day saw Alibaba, which dominates the holiday in China, take in a record haul of 213.5 billion yuan ($30.7 billion) in just one 24-hour period, reports Reuters.

However, not all was good. This year’s Singles’ Day saw sales growth plummet from a 39% year-over-year increase in 2017 to just a 27% YOY increase this year. That’s the lowest growth rate in 10 years. Then again, the shopping holiday wasn’t all bad, with Alibaba saying it processed $1 billion in sales this year in just one minute and 25 seconds.