Black Friday in the US is no longer the most lucrative day globally for online sales. Less than a decade ago, it was overtaken by Singles Day, an unofficial shopping holiday for unmarried people in China championed by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Alibaba's competitor JD has since entered the fray, and now both independently exceed the performance of US online retailers on America's big annual internet spending spree around Thanksgiving. Still, China's population size is more than four times that of the US, and Chinese online shoppers spend a lot less per capita than Americans. We look at online sales on Alibaba and JD compared to those in the US on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

More For You

Igmel Tamayo carries charcoal to sell on the side of a road for use as cooking fuel in homes, after US President Donald Trump vowed to stop Venezuelan oil and money from reaching the island as Cubans brace for worsening fuel shortages amid regular power outages, on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on January 12, 2026.
REUTERS/Norlys Perez