More than 110 million consumers made a purchase during the "Double 12" shopping festival launched by Alibaba, according to statistics from Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial Services Group. 

Ant Financial announced on Dec 1 that it would extend "Double 12", which used to be on Dec 12, to a three-day shopping carnival. The event covered more than 1 million businesses which accept payment by Ant Financial's online payment platform, Alipay, and attracted 4.9 million consumers on the first day of the festival, Dec 10.

The big success of "Double 12" backed the prediction made by Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba, about the emergence of "new retail".

During the Computing Conference held in Hangzhou in October, Ma warned that pure e-commerce businesses will face challenges in the coming decade and suggested a new development model which combines bricks-and-mortar retail, online platforms and logistics.

"New retail" appeared to be gaining momentum during this year's "Double 12". Thousands of businesses put advertisements on Alipay and achieved their best sales of the year, including well-known brands like MixC, Intime, KFC and Wal-Mart. Stores are willing to offer 50 percent discounts on Alipay in order to attract new customers.

Statistics by Ant Financial also show that 66 percent of "Double 12" consumers are people under 30. Zhang Yong, CEO of Alibaba, said that "Double 12" is not only an upgrade of its e-commerce, but a pioneer of the mainstream lifestyle young people will have in the future.

Shoppers queue at the checkout of a supermarket in Shanghai offering "Double 12" discounts on Dec 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]