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Alibaba Group said transactions on its websites today surpassed last year’s single- day sales of 19.1 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) as discounts fueled demand on China’s biggest online shopping day.

Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba’s two main platforms, broke last year’s sales in the first 13 hours of the 24-hour period, China’s largest e-commerce company said today on its official Twitter account. Today is China’s Singles’ Day, a local twist on Valentine’s Day, and e-commerce firms are marking the occasion by flooding the Internet with promotions.

Tmall’s vendors, starting midnight, began cutting prices by 50% or more on selected products from 20,000 Chinese and international merchants, including Gap and Steven Madden. Surging Internet purchases show Chinese demand is shifting away from bricks-and-mortar outlets. The percentage of retail sales made online last year jumped to 6.3% from 4.3% a year earlier, according to Bloomberg Industries.

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