Australia has ranked as the fourth highest selling country in Alibaba Group’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.
This is up from a fifth place ranking in 2015, an improvement driven by the increased number of Australian businesses participating, as well as stand-out performances by several local retailers and brands.
The festival, which closed on Friday, saw strong sales in Japan, China, the US, South Korea and Germany.
Alibaba Group reported that RMB 120.7 billion (USD 17.8 billion) of gross merchandise volume was settled through Alipay.
Mobile settled through Alipay accounting for 82% of this sum.
Australian retailer Chemist Warehouse was once again a star of the show, reporting RMB 10 million of sales (US$1.5 million) in the first 13 minutes – a number it reached in 46 minutes in last year’s 11.11 festival.
The retailer went on to become the first Tmall Global store to surpass RMB 100 million.
This was not the only Australian business to experience success – by nine hours, 14 minutes and 28 seconds into the festival, the total GMV of Australian and New Zealand products had exceeded that of 2015.
Top ANZ brands by GMV included Jeanswest, UGG, Swisse and Blackmores.
Alibaba Group ANZ MD Maggie Zhou said all brands made an impressive performance.
"When we announced the opening of our office in Australia earlier this year, I said that one of our goals was to improve the country's outstanding performance in Alibaba's 2015 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.
"I’m thrilled that during this year’s festival we’ve seen significant increases in Australian sales volumes – a result which will have a positive impact on many local businesses”.
Chemist Warehouse director Damien Gance said the platform is invaluable for local retailers.
“As the world's largest shopping extravaganza, Alibaba's 11.11 Shopping Festival is invaluable for retailers from both a sales and brand-building perspective.
"This year, we were fortunate to be part of Alibaba's VR shopping experience which, along with our other marketing and merchandising activities, led to us beating our 2015 records.
"Our team is delighted and looking forward to continuing to work with Alibaba to provide new and innovative ways to shop”.
As Alibaba’s most global 11.11 shopping festival since the event’s inception in 2009, this year’s festival saw 235 countries and regions with completed cross-border transactions. 37% of total buyers purchased from international brands or merchants.
Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang said this year's festival upped the digital ante.
"This year’s 11.11 is a preview of the future of retail, where entertainment, commerce and interactive engagement intersect seamless.
"From the kick-off of warm-up activities to the countdown gala and all the way through the 24-hour global shopping festival itself, we’ve seen unprecedented engagement between consumers and merchants.
"11.11 showcased how online and offline retail will be reinvented to offer brand new shopping experiences to our hundreds of millions of mobile, digitally savvy active users.”