阅读理解
Bargain
hunters spent a record of 168.2 billion yuan ($25.3 billion; 21.7 billion
euros; £19.3 billion) during the 2017 Singles Day on Nov. 11, the world's
largest daylong discount festival, as e-commerce giant Alibaba Group took
online shopping to offline stores and beyond(超越) the
nation's borders(边界).
Spending
climbed by 39.3 percent during this year's sale, as consumers from 225
countries and regions scooped up goods from 140,000 brands (品牌)that offered promotions during the annual event.
Alibaba
surpassed last year's 120.7 billion yuan total shortly after 1 pm, as overseas
shoppers joined in the afternoon, seeking good deals from China. Expanding at a
faster-than-expected pace, the total eclipsed (使黯然失色)
the combined sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States last
year. Nine out of ten people used mobile wallet apps for payment, says Alibaba,
with its Alipay app having handled 1.48 billion transactions (转账) in 24 hours and processed them at a peak rate of 256,000
transactions per second.
Meanwhile,
some offline shops also joined in, turning into smart stores that allowed
shoppers to track product availability at other locations and get timely
delivery to their doorsteps while paying with their phone. "Using big data
analytics powered by Chinese tech firms can help us locate customers in a
precise manner, something we wouldn't have achieved using old-school retailing,"
says Gary Chu, e-commerce general manager.
The
Nov. 11 shopping event represents a China-branded business model that can also
be spread to other countries, creating opportunities for businesses worldwide.
As Singles Day grows, shoppers have used the opportunity to try out new items
rather than simply bagging a bargain, says Tommy Hong, vice-president of
Nielsen China.
"That
changing attitudes (toward Singles Day) is also consistent with China's
shifting focus from quantity(数量) to quality growth,"
Gary Chu says.