Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Graphic Truth

The Graphic Truth: This day dwarfs Black Friday

This day dwarfs Black Friday: Singles Day, (China) sales on Alibaba & JD compared to all online sales in the US on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday combined.
Make us preferred on Google

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

Russia's costly invasion
Eileen Zhang
Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to China this week to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping. Under the leadership of these two men, who have met dozens of times, Russia and China have forged what they call a “no limits” partnership. Russia is a major source of natural resources for China, while Beijing has helped Moscow weather increasingly harsh [...]
Hard Number: Is Russia stuck in the mud?
More than four years into its war with Ukraine, the Russian military appears to be stuck in the mud. With the loss of access to Starlink satellites, which were previously used to help guide their drones, the Russians have turned to deploying small teams of soldiers in attempts to break through the front lines, with little success. This sluggish [...]
​French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenya's President William Ruto at the Taifa Hall of the University of Nairobi, in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 11, 2026.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Kenya's President William Ruto shake hands during the "Africa Forward Summit 2026" at the Taifa Hall of the University of Nairobi, in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 11, 2026.

REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi
When French President Emmanuel Macron took to the stage at the Africa Forward summit yesterday, the audience may not have expected a scolding.“Hey! Hey! Hey! I’m sorry guys, but it’s impossible to … have people … coming here making a speech with such a noise,” he said. “This is a total lack of respect.”Macron’s harsh words directed at the crowd, [...]
Iran thinks it has more leverage than Trump
- YouTube
The Iran war may have entered a ceasefire phase, but the crisis is far from over.The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, global energy markets are under mounting pressure, and President Trump appears to be backing away from some of his original demands on Tehran. Ian Bremmer argues that Iran increasingly believes it has more leverage than [...]