Billions spent on ‘Singles Day’

SHANGHAI: China’s smartphone-wielding masses unleashed billions of dollars in e-commerce spending as they rushed to snap up bargains on “Singles Day”, billed as the world’s biggest one-day online shopping festival.

Also known as “Double 11” for the Nov 11 date, the event launched in 2009 by e-commerce giant Alibaba kicked off at midnight and ended up shattering the previous year’s sales mark, as it does every year.