Gala to set the tone for shopping bonanza

E-commerce firms plan flurry of events to keep consumers interested in festival

At the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, history will have been made as scores of Chinese shoppers log on to the Internet to be part of the mammoth 24-hour shopping festival.

Joining them would be scores of retailers, big and small, offering discounts and freebies so that they could keep the cash registers ringing well into the next few weeks or even next year.