SHANGHAI • Nothing has been left to chance to make shoppers loosen their purse strings swiftly.

Superstar Taylor Swift (above) has been tapped to headline Alibaba's Singles' Day next month in Shanghai, turning her considerable star wattage to further light up the world's largest annual online shopping spree.

She joins celebrities from Chinese singer G.E.M. to Japanese voice actress Kana Hanazawa to promote the Nov 11 extravaganza, months after wrapping a similar Prime Day celebration for Amazon.com.

Alibaba co-opted Singles' Day - an unofficial campus holiday for the unattached - and turned it into a national showcase for online bargains, netting more than US$30 billion (S$41 billion) of sales over a 24-hour period last year.

Alibaba said on Monday Swift will feature in a televised and live-streamed concert in the run-up to the start of 24-hour promotions.

More than 200,000 brands will take part this year, offering a million new products.

More than 500 million people are expected to participate - about 100 million more than last year.

WASHINGTON POST