Singapore’s Lazada Group had a record start to its annual 11.11 sale, with shoppers ordering 2 million items in the first 24 hours.

Savings totalled US$39 million for the latest Lazada Online Revolution. Created in 2012 as a one-day sale, the event has subsequently run for one month every year.

“Every year we see a larger pool of online shoppers, with growing diversity across generations and geographical locations,” says Lazada Group CEO Maximilian Bittner. “This was confirmed this year with orders from such places as Papua Barat in Indonesia, Huyen Nam Nhun in Vietnam and Kudat in Sabah, buying brands not previously available to them.”

In the week leading up to 11.11 nearly 1.9 million apps were downloaded, and shoppers spent almost 10 minutes on average browsing through offers on the first day. In just 24 hours, consumers in Southeast Asia bought about 74,000 smartphones and tablets as well as 1.9 million diapers.

As the sale progresses, Lazada is tailoring its offering to meet customer interests with weekly curated selections of items for beauty fans, mothers and families, techies and fashionistas, culminating with another “mega sale” day on December 12.

As well as Singapore, Lazada Group has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.