Alibaba’s annual “Single’s Day” shopping event tops Black Friday sales, in the US by a mile. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving.

Reuters reports Alibaba Singles’ Day Sales Hit $12 billion in First Hour.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Inc said on Monday that sales for its annual Singles’ Day shopping blitz hit 84 billion yuan ($12 billion) within the first hour, up 22% from last year’s early haul of 69 billion yuan.

Akin to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States, Singles’ Day has been promoted as a shopping fest by Alibaba Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang since 2009, growing rapidly to become the world’s biggest online sales event.

Also known as “Double Eleven”, the festival’s name originates from the calendar date 11/11, with the four ones referencing being single.

Alibaba saw sales worth $30 billion on its platforms on Singles’ Day last year, dwarfing $7.9 billion U.S. online sales for Cyber Monday. Yet the 27% sales growth was the lowest in the event’s 10-year history, spurring a search for fresh ideas.

The $486 billion Chinese retail juggernaut kicked off this year’s 24-hour shopping fest with performances by American pop star Taylor Swift and local celebrities like Jackson Yee.

Lovely.

More people than ever before rush to buy more junk they cannot afford.

Congratulations.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock