It took only 63 minutes and 59 seconds for Alibaba's sales for its annual Singles’ Day shopping blitz to hit 100 billion yuan ($14.3 billion). The first billion yuan was spent in the first 68 seconds.

BBC Report:

The Reuters news agency points out that $1 billion worth of goods sold in 1 minute and 8 seconds.

"Based upon that first hour... I would be really surprised to not see it come in above $32bn," said Daniel Newman, technology analyst at Futurum Research.

American companies are also getting in on the act. Nearly a quarter of US retailers plan to run promotions for Singles Day, according to Adobe, which surveyed more than 400 US retailers with annual sales in excess of $500,000.

CBSNews:

China's one-day festival of consumption is likely to eclipse Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday — combined, according to Adobe Analytics. The retail data tracking service estimates that the long US holiday shopping weekend this year will generate total retail sales of $29 billion — that would be less than the $30 billion produced in 2018 by China's Singles Day.

CNN:

A recent survey from research firm Oliver Wyman found that buyers are expecting to spend nearly 10% more on Singles Day this year compared to 2018. That could be a sign of weakening growth, though. Last year, Alibaba reported a 27% uptick in Singles Day revenue.

（South China Morning Post）

Lazada will take part for the second consecutive year across its six markets which include Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Over 200,000 domestic and international brands are expected to take part in this year's spree, with over 1 million new products to be put on sale, Alibaba said.

Singles' Day has also evolved from a day of massive sales to one that merges both consumption and entertainment.

Since 2018, Amazon has taken a leaf out of Alibaba's playbook, throwing Prime Day concerts as part of the event line-up showcasing its services.

安永大中华区数字业务部主管Benson直言，"These (Chinese) e-commerce players have learned more about consumer demand for new and improved shopping experiences … such as excitement, gamification and entertainment (beyond) fulfilment of transaction needs," said Benson Ng, EY's Greater China digital advisory leader.

Straits Times report：

Alibaba continues to dominate the online shopping industry, but not without competition.

The company is facing stiff competition this year as smaller platforms including JD.com and Pinduoduo – the aggressively expanding upstart that's now encroaching on the market leaders' turf.

libaba, stung by criticism it harmed the environment by shipping an estimated 1 billion packages in a single day — has enjoined its logistics arm Cainiao to set up recycling centers at 75,000 locations. It says it will also work with courier companies to pick up used boxes and wrapping.