Chinese marketplace Alibaba and JD.com had record sales on 11/11/15 Singles Day.

Alibaba’s Alipay payment system reported a GMV of $14.3 billion of sales through the system, an increase of around $6bn on last year. JD.com, Alibaba’s nearest rival on the Chinese e-commerce market, saw a spike of 130% of its normal throughput of purchases and a GMV increase of 140%.

JD.com describes itself as ‘China’s biggest online shopping mall’, with thousands of retailers competing in one marketplace across greater China.

Where Alibaba lead the way with online sales, JD.com made Singles Day the final day of an eleven day discounting programme, and this contributed significantly to its income. A statement from JD.com said, “With promotions across all categories beginning at midnight for the annual 24-hour event, JD.com saw its order volume yesterday exceed its full-day 2010 Singles Day total in just two minutes, its 2011 Singles Day total in 15 minutes and its 2012 figure in 36 minutes.”

Since 2012, JD.com has been moving into European markets.The Chinese giant set up a B2C e-commerce service for European retailers to reach China. Working with Germany based Otto Group, it has developed the Zitra system.

In a press release, JD.com described Zitra: “Zitra is a subsidiary of the Otto Group with the objective to develop technology and infrastructure for the future of the fashion and lifestyle industry. Their core mission: Scaling up international brands by enabling them to sell directly on international online marketplaces and on retail concession floors. Utilizing the infrastructure and know how of the Otto Group and Hermes Europe, Zitra provides IT, Management and Fulfillment services as one stop solution.”