Editor’s note: Tristan McInnis is an innovation strategist at market research firm C Space, Shanghai City, China. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared here under the title, “Double 11 in China.” https://www.cspace.com/blog/double-11-in-china/

With all the numbers for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the United States starting to pour in (after massive hype was built up) I can’t help but take a pause and reflect on the huge shopping festival that just took place in China – or how Alibaba took a day dedicated to activities for single people and turned it into the world’s largest online shopping festival!

“Infographic: Double 11 sales, and sales, soar” – Alizila

It was a record breaking year in China! This year’s final tally hit a new record: $17.79 billion in gross merchandise volume, up from $14.3 billion in 2015. The 2016 event saw a peak of 175,000 transactions and 120,000 payments per second.

“How Alibaba created the world’s biggest online shopping day” – Tech in Asia

Origins of Double 11: Taken from the date 11/11. The numbers represent the lonely figures of single people.

“China’s ‘Double 11’ online shopping day reverberates beyond borders” – China Daily

Everyone wants to get in on the action this year with more of a global presence that ever before.

“Virtual reality lets Chinese customers shop Macy’s New York store on the world’s biggest shopping day” –  Quartz

Alibaba, looking to capture even more excited consumers, has employed new virtual reality technology to create more immersive experiences through digital. Even though there was a mixed review of the outputs, it definitely marks a step forward to embracing these emerging technologies.

“M&S to close clothing and home stores in turnaround plan” – BBC

Marks & Spencer, a U.K. department store has decided to close its stores in China this past week. While it may seem apropos that in the wake of the e-commerce festival this classic brick and mortar has fallen victim to the growing tide of digital, there were perhaps more warning signs leading up to their departure from this market. If anything, it points to the need for closer connections between e-commerce and offline. More than anything, the role and purpose for offline stores is changing rapidly away from merchandise on display to experiential.