The Nov 11 shopping spree came to a close with more than 200 million yuan ($29 million) spent on Taobao by Baotou residents during the 24-hour period, setting a new record.

Online shopping is quickly becoming popular in Baotou, especially with female shoppers. Anything can be found and purchased online, no matter whether it is a daily necessity, a household appliance, or even a service. Plenty of office workers choose to shop online for it is quick and convenient. They can then spend extra time working out in the gym, going to a movie or enjoying a concert.

The most popular online shopping website in China is Taobao, a website owned by the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. And Nov 11 is one of Taobao's busiest days of the year with most of the shops on the platform offering special discounts. Last year the company saw sales volumes of 91 billion yuan.

The Nov 11 shopping spree draws in a large number of customers, most of them females born in the 1980s and 1990s.

Nov 11 is called the Singles' Day in China because the date is entirely composed of the single digit "1". The day has induced an online shopping gala as Taobao offers special discounts on this day for celebration.

Total sales volumes of Nov 11 hit 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) this year. [Photo/Xinhua]

Ms Liu, a regular online shopper in Baotou, said she was determined to resist the temptation of the big sales offered on Nov 11, but ended up spending more than 800 yuan.

According to statistics released by Alibaba, the e-commerce giant in China led by Jack Ma, total sales volumes on Nov 11 hit 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion), with clothes, makeup, electronic appliances and cell phones among the best sellers.

In contrast to large online sales, physical stores in Baotou appeared indifferent to the event, with few of them cutting prices. To compete with online stores, some shops chose to offer discounts a few days in advance of Nov 11.

Couriers have to deliver twice the number of parcels following the Nov 11 shopping spree. [Photo/baotounews.com.cn]

Parcels from this year’s shopping spree arrive at Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/baotounews.com.cn]