Chinese internet giant Alibaba has set a new sales record for the world’s biggest online sales event, its annual Singles Day festival.

On 11 November, the day chosen by Alibaba to represent those without a significant other, RMB213.5bn ($30.8bn/£23.9bn) was spent by customers – a 27 per cent increase on same day last year, but the lowest annual increase in the history of Singles Day.

The event featured participation from more than 180,000 brands – with over 40 per cent of consumers making purchases from international brands. 237 of these brands exceeded RMB100m including the likes Apple, Dyson, Kindle, Estée Lauder, L’Oréal, Nestlé, Gap, Nike, and Adidas.

Meanwhile, 230 countries and regions had completed transactions – Japan, USA, South Korea, Australia, and Germany being the top-selling countries outside of China.

“Today we witnessed the strength and rise of China’s consumption economy and consumers’ continued pursuit to upgrade their everyday lifestyles,” said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. “Participation from the entire Alibaba ecosystem enabled our brand and merchant partners to engage with consumers like never before. Looking ahead, Alibaba will continue to lead the evolution towards the future digital economy and lifestyle.”