Chinese Singles' Day spending blows Black Friday and Cyber Monday out of the water

Americans see Black Friday and Cyber Monday as the ultimate consumer spending extravaganzas, but the annual "record breaking " sales days have nothing on China's so-called Singles' Day. As we can see in this chart from Statista, Singles' Day sales make the US Thanksgiving weekend spending look like chump change.

This year, Singles' Day was bigger than ever, with Chinese consumers breaking all-time records by spending a total of $25 billion across Alibaba's e-commerce platforms. Although other outlets also offer deals, the day is heavily promoted by and aligned with Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao platforms. According to Bloomberg, the company's processors handled 256,000 transactions per second. The day is exactly what it sounds like - a celebration of ones' relationship status, and the annual date, 11/11, is a (literal) celebration of the number one.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Mike Nudelman/Business Insider

Get the latest Alibaba stock price here.