China’s Alibaba has made more than $3.9bn (?2.bn) in sales in the first hour of Singles’ Day in China, the world’s biggest online shopping event

China’s Alibaba has made more than $3.9bn (?2.bn) in sales in the first hour of Singles’ Day in China, the world’s biggest online shopping event

The figure is almost double the $2bn spent in the same time period of the retail giant’s sales event last year

Singles’ Day, also known as "Double Eleven" because its held on 11 November, is the biggest single shopping day in China

Alibaba said $1bn was spent within the first eight minutes.It said 130 million users visited its marketplace app Taobao

Singles Day has grown tremendously since it was started by Alibaba in 2009, and now includes many retailers such as rivals JD.com that stage sales promotions

Alibaba reported a record $9.3bn in sales on its platforms in 2014.In comparison, sales on Cyber Monday, which the biggest online shopping day in the US, hit $1.35bn, according to comScore

Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang said over the course of the 24-hour shopping marathon, consumers will have a new surprise every hour, especially targeting mobile users

"The whole world will witness the power of Chinese consumption this November 11," he said in a statement

More than 27 million buyers were using mobile phones in the first hour, the company said

Economists will be looking for clues about domestic consumption in Wednesday’s sales as the world’s second-biggest economy heads for its slowest growth in nearly a quarter of a century