Alibaba hits record sales on Singles\' Day

It was a record breaking day for Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba.

Their annual Singles' Day event raking in over $24 billion.

It's the biggest online sales event in the world - outstripping the U.S. version, Black Friday.

Singles' Day originally began as a novelty holiday to celebrate not being in a relationship.

But it has evolved into a shopping bonanza that sees peak sales within the first few minutes of the 24-hour spending window.

Reuters Cate Cadell in Shanghai.

SOUNDBITE (English) REUTERS' CATE CADELL SAYING: ''Generally what we're seeing is the same numbers we're used to.

Alibaba cleared about 10 billion worth of sales within it's first hour this morning, which is impressive.

But at the same time what we're seeing is the rate of growth for these sales year over year is slowing somewhat.'' Analysts say that's due to competitors choosing to hold similar sales earlier in the year, and the fact that younger spenders are less willing to part with their cash in November.

SOUNDBITE (English) REUTERS' CATE CADELL SAYING: ''The other thing that Alibaba has been grappling with this year is the economic effect of the trade war.

The company said its going to revise down it's 4-year sales forecast due to these economic uncertainties which it says it expects to affect big ticket purchases like refrigerators and smart phones.'' That might leave investors a little concerned.

But, to compensate, Alibaba plans to take in less income from its platforms in the near term in order to retain brands and new buyers.