Real-time figures on a giant screen at Alibaba's sprawling Hangzhou campus surged past 2013's record to 57.1 billion yuan ($9.3 billion) just after midnight after Chinese and overseas shoppers snapped up heavily discounted goods online.

The shopping day, similar to Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the United States, comes less than eight weeks after Alibaba's record $25 billion public share listing in New York.

Founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma said earlier on Tuesday that Alibaba's financial services arm, Alipay, also "will definitely go public", probably in China.

Ma later spoke briefly to reporters, saying he felt a bit nervous" due to the higher pressures and expectations now that Alibaba is a listed company.

Alibaba turned Singles' Day, a Nov. 11 Chinese response to Valentine's Day, into an online shopping festival in 2009.