It takes just 96 seconds after midnight for Alibaba Group, which initiated the Double 11 shopping carnival in 2009, to net 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) worth of gross merchandise volume on Monday. [Photo/China Daily]

The total transaction volume of the Singles Day shopping spree, which falls on Nov 11 each year, hit 268.4 billion yuan ($38.31 billion), marking a new record that topped last year's total of 213.5 billion yuan, according to statistics released by Alibaba Group in Hangzhou on Nov 12.

Enthusiasm for online shopping in China was vibrant once again during the Singles Day shopping extravaganza, as merchants and e-commerce platforms accelerated efforts to launch more tailor-made merchandise, as well as used livestreaming for product promotions.

It took just 96 seconds after midnight for Alibaba Group, which initiated the shopping carnival in 2009, to net 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) worth of gross merchandise volume on Nov 11, faster than the 125 seconds it took last year to cross the same threshold.

The transaction volume reached 43.99 billion yuan in the first 10 minutes, and hit 100 billion yuan in one hour, three minutes, and 59 seconds. The figure surpassed 213.5 billion yuan, last year's total sales, by 4:31 pm on Nov 11, and continued to climb through the rest of the day.

The 24-hour shopping frenzy, which is marking its 11th year as a recognized consumer phenomenon in the country, has become a significant engine of economic growth thanks to the increasing spending power of middle- and high-income shoppers, said industry insiders.

Zhou Jiangyong, Party secretary of Hangzhou, visited Alibaba Group late in the night on Nov 11 to witness the exciting moment with Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, and other employees.

He expressed thanks to Alibaba for its great contributions to Hangzhou, and said that Double 11 Shopping Festival was born in Hangzhou and has gone global.

"It is the glory of both Alibaba and Hangzhou," he added.

Zhou also expressed his hope that the government would strengthen cooperation with Alibaba, with an aim of building Hangzhou into the top digital economy city in China.

Singles Day uses the date Nov 11, or 11/11, to symbolize the solitariness of the four digits to represent not being involved in a relationship.