Alibaba the e-commerce giant has hit a record breaking of 'singles' online shopping

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba

Alibaba the e-commerce online shopping giant has announced a record breaking start to the China's Singles Day.

Alibaba is the biggest online shopping event that goes beyond imagine to satisfy human wants and services.

The sales hit $5 billion (£4 billion) in the first hour, the firm said, though that total included pre-orders made by customers who could "lock in" prices.

It took 90 minutes to hit that milestone in 2015, which went on to see sales of $14.3 billion through the day.

Alibaba said 85% of early purchases had been made on mobile phones.

The company has also been experimenting with new technology including augmented reality and virtual reality to give shoppers other ways of buying items.

Source: BBC-News