E-commerce giant Alibaba has broken its own record for sales on China's Singles Day, the world's biggest online shopping event.<br />Singles Day, also known as Double Eleven because it is held on 11 November, has become a major annual event for Chinese retailers.<br />In comparison, sales on Cyber Monday, which is the biggest online shopping day in the US, hit $1.35bn, according to data analytics firm ComScore.<br />Singles Day has grown tremendously since Alibaba began promoting it as a shopping day in 2009, and now includes many retailers such as rivals JD.com that stage sales promotions.<br />In the lead up to the event, the firm hosted a four-hour TV variety show featuring Chinese celebrities and Western entertainers such as British actor Daniel Craig of James Bond fame.
