Alibaba Singles Day sales top $30 billion (CNN)

Alibaba smashed its record for the online retail blitz known as Singles Day.

China’s biggest e-commerce company said sales topped $30 billion over a 24-hour period Sunday, soaring past last year’s record of about $24 billion.

The shopping extravanganza regularly racks up bigger sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. But this year’s Singles Day comes as Alibaba’s (BABA) growth is coming under pressure from China’s slowing economy, new rivals in the e-commerce industry and the trade war with the United States.

The final tally on Alibaba platforms rang in at $30,802,477,608, an increase of about 27% over last year’s total at current exchange rates. That’s less spectacular than the 40% growth recorded in 2017. Read more