Chinese consumers collectively spent 268.4 billion yuan (US$38.4 billion) for Alibaba’s Singles’ Day, setting a new record for the 24 hour shopping extravaganza.

The final tally for this year’s Singles’ Day was up nearly 26 per cent compared to last year’s figure of 213.5 billion yuan, as consumption during the festival remained robust despite a protracted US-China trade war, now in its 17th month, and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

Alibaba’s Singles’ Day shopping festival, which falls on November 11 every year, is the world’s largest of its kind, where shoppers scoop up everything from consumer electronics to luxury items and even cars.

“Singles’ Day is becoming more recognised worldwide … but since it is still very much a domestic holiday and event, it is a true test of Chinese consumer power,” said Benson Ng, EY Greater China digital advisory leader.

While the company’s e-commerce marketplaces Tmall and Taobao are traditionally the mainstays of the annual shopping extravaganza, this year’s festival includes business-to-business e-commerce platforms like AliExpress as well as Lazada, Alibaba’s Southeast Asian e-commerce subsidiary, as the company taps international consumers.