Alibaba's Nov 11 gala to be truly global

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is making its iconic Nov 11 shopping gala "a truly globalized event" by introducing massive presales activities and smart recommendation mechanisms to overseas buyers for the first time.

AliExpress, a retail subsidiary of Alibaba that allows Chinese merchants to sell directly to foreign customers, will leverage social media and artificial intelligence capabilities to attract global consumers to spend big during the annual festival.

The site, whose user number jumped 50 percent in the past year to hit 150 million, plans to team up with leading social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, to draw in shoppers through personalized advertisements.