Alibaba Earns $30.8 Billion in 24 Hours

• Alibaba Earns $30.8 Billion in 24 Hours

Alibaba set a new Singles Day sales record on Sunday, sold more than $30.8 billion in the 24-hour shopping event.

The e-commerce giant surpassed $25.3 billion recorded last year at about 5:34 p.m. SIN/HK (4:34 a.m. ET), according to the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), that shows sales figure across Alibaba platforms.

On a yearly basis, sales were up by 27 percent but smaller than the 39 percent recorded a year ago.

This year, the Singles Day sales beat 2017 number faster in terms of yuan than it crossed the dollar record. That was because Chinese yuan is weaker against the US dollar than it was a year ago. Meaning, more sales were needed to get the same dollar amount.

The 10 edition of the annual Singles Day shopping, which is also called the Double 11 shopping because it falls on November 11 got off to a strong start with sales hitting $1 billion in one minute and 25 seconds.

In a little over an hour, sales crossed $10 billion, five minutes and 21 seconds faster than 2017.

The Singles Day sales exceeded total spending by consumers during any single U.S. shopping holiday.