Today’s newsletter has Black Friday sales analysis, an in-depth report on China mobile and a profile of Tencent, the largest company you’ve probably never heard of.

What do you need to know about Black Friday sales? Online sales were up 17.9% and foot traffic down 1.6%.  And Cyber Monday is poised to be a record sales day.

Mobile is massive

With 520 million mobile wallets and mobile payments reaching more than $5.94 trillion, China’s mobile market is massive. We’ve got highlights from a new report on China’s mobile marketplace.

More than Tencent

Finally, we profile China’s Tencent. With a market cap of more than $529.9 billion, it’s now larger than Facebook. From dominating China’s mobile, technology and numerous service sectors, it’s poised to go global. Learn more about its success.

Black Friday sales analysis: Online spending up, foot traffic down

https://paymentsnext.com/black-friday-sales-analysis-online-spending-up-foot-traffic-down/US Thanksgiving and Black Friday online sales hit record levels while foot traffic in retail stores was down slightly at most locations. Preliminary reports from Adobe Analytics say Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday online sales totaled $7.09 billion, up 17.9% from the year before. Black Friday sales alone totaled $5.03 billion. Read more…

Mobile China: 520 million wallets & payments worth more than $5.9 trillion

https://paymentsnext.com/mobile-china-520-million-wallets-payments-worth-more-than-5-9-trillion/Alibaba’s Ant Financial group reported there are now more than 520 million mobile wallet users in China. The People’s Bank of China reports Chinese banks handled 8.6 billion mobile transactions in the second quarter of this year, up 40.5% from a year ago. The value of payments  increased 33.8%, totaling more than $5.94 trillion. Much more in this special China mobile report. Read more…

Which Chinese tech company is now bigger than Facebook?

https://paymentsnext.com/which-chinese-tech-company-is-now-bigger-than-facebook/What Chinese tech company is now bigger than Facebook and has a market cap of more than $529.9 billion? Hint:  it’s not Alibaba. If you guessed Tencent, you’re not likely a resident of North America or Europe because this Chinese company is largely unknown outside of China and will surprise you by its size and growth. Read more…