Alibaba smashes Singles’ Day sales record in half the time

Sales for Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd.’s annual Singles’ Day event crested $9 billion by noon Wednesday, beating 2014’s sales 12 hours of ahead of schedule.

By the end of the day, sales totaled more than $14.3 billion, according to Bloomberg Business.

The Hangzou, China-based Web retailer’s record sales arrive on the heels of an 11 percent increase in national retail sales during October, breaking a 25-year period of sluggish growth.

The company estimates handling the Singles’ Day shipping volume will require 1.7 million delivery workers, 400,000 vehicles and 200 airplanes.

Read more from Bloomberg Business.