What happens when the world’s most populous country goes on an online shopping binge?

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group gave a glimpse of that on Tuesday, when China kicked off its own version of Cyber Monday. The sixth annual Chinese discount event is expected to clog the packaging industry, ring up billions in sales, and fatten the earnings of big-time e-commerce players, along with thousands of participating merchants.

Held on Nov. 11, which is the Singles’ Day holiday in China, the sales festival offers consumers deep discounts on products and attracts droves of buyers across the country each year. Alibaba Group, which runs two of China’s largest online retail sites, has made a killing off of sales from the event, and processed US$5.8 billion worth in goods during last year’s holiday.

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