Record 'Singles Day' online sales expected

This year's "Singles Day" shopping spee, which happens annually in China on Nov 11, is expected to generate record levels of online spending, according to the latest market predictions.

Of the 1,000 people polled by research consultancy Nielsen, more than 80 percent said they had serious shopping plans for the day, which this year falls on next Tuesday.

Just 17 percent of those surveyed said they are first-time participants in the retail phenomenon, and a mere single percent, maybe appropriately, of the online shoppers who joined last year's Singles Day, said they won't be buying anything this year.