This article was first published on: Nov 11, 2013.<\/p>\n
We usually don\u2019t write about finance<\/a> but we do like to indulge a bit in e-commerce<\/a> and online shopping<\/a>, and when it comes to e-commerce, you cannot afford to ignore China\u2019s market. Today (Nov 11) is Single\u2019s Day in China, equivalent to Cyber Monday in the US. Scratch that, it\u2019s not equivalent to it, it\u2019s twice as big<\/strong>. Last year, Alibaba made $3 bil within 24 hours<\/a> on Nov 11 \u2013 this year they are expected to pull in $4.9 billion<\/a>, all in a day\u2019s work. And that\u2019s just Alibaba.<\/p>\n (Update<\/strong>: The new numbers are in. China shoppers spent 35 billion yuan<\/a> ($5.75 billion)<\/strong> on Taobao and Tmall in this year\u2019s Single\u2019s Day, an 80% hike from the previous year.)<\/p>\n Despite the catchphrase \u201cMade in China\u201d being thrown about a lot in jest, perhaps it is time we change our tune. China is an economic force to be reckoned with when it comes to e-commerce<\/strong>. More than 240 million Chinese consumers shop online, and they are expected to spend $265 bil<\/a> in 2013 \u2013 $75 billion more than the 1.3 trillion yuan ($210bil) spent in 2012.<\/p>\n Of that sum, Alibaba, the world\u2019s largest e-commerce company handled more than 90%<\/strong>, around 1.1trillion yuan ($180 bil) worth of sales through Taobao and Tmall. That\u2019s more than eBay and Amazon combined. And this is just the start.<\/p>\n