Chinese e-commerce firms report growth in sales, shoppers for Singles’ Day shopping festival Boston 25 News [Video]

HONG KONG — (AP) — China’s e-commerce firms reported an increase in the number of shoppers and a growth in sales for this year’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, although final figures were not publicly revealed.

Alibaba, which operates the Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platforms, said 45 brands – including Apple, Nike, and Chinese appliance brands Haier and Midea – surpassed 1 billion yuan ($138.3 million ) in gross merchandise value, which measures the value of transactions made.

Alibaba said in a news statement Tuesday that Taobao and Tmall saw “robust growth” in gross merchandise volume – a common metric for sales during the festival – and a “record number” of buyers, though it did not provide specifics.

The Hangzhou-based firm also said that the number of 88VIP members – its paid e-commerce membership program – who placed orders during the festival increased by over 50%.

Rival online retailer JD.com said Tuesday the number of shoppers for its Singles’ Day promotion period …