What's going on?

Wednesday was the biggest online shopping day in history of the world � all thanks to China�s booming �Singles Day.� Alibaba (which is sometimes referred to as �China�s Amazon�) popularized the day and is its biggest beneficiary.

What does this mean?

Singles Day was invented by Chinese students in the 1990s � as Wiki explains,��it serves as an occasion for single people to party with single friends."�It now also serves as an occasion for Alibaba to sell a massive amount of gear � over $14 billion worth in a single day! That's 60% more than last year�s Singles Day. Apart from being a genius marketing initiative, it also sheds light on the present economic health of everyday Chinese people. China�s economic growth has been slowing, but that is largely due to a slowdown in the traditionally strong areas of exports (manufacturing goods to sell overseas) and construction. Chinese consumption � meaning how much Chinese people spend � is actually increasing strongly (e.g. retail sales were up 11% in October).�

Why should I care?

1. The bigger picture: Singles Day is coming to America (and Europe). Alibaba wants to increase sales from Chinese companies to western countries, via their platform, and it will probably try to use Singles Day as a way to do that. So prepare for a potential marketing onslaught next year.
2. For the stock: The stock has struggled. Its price has declined 15% since it became a public company last year. A noted publication, Barron�s, recently published an article questioning its accounting�and a famous investor reportedly said it�s a good stock to sell. But proponents say that it�s a good way to get exposure to the Chinese consumer, which appears to be doing relatively well.