A single company will dwarf all of America's Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales today

ReutersAlibaba is launching its biggest online shopping day of the year.

Called Singles' Day, the anti-Valentine's Day holiday emerged in China two decades ago as a time for bachelors and bachelorettes to celebrate the single life.

Since then, Alibaba - China's largest e-commerce company - has turned it into the biggest 24-hour cyberspending blitz in the world by offering deep discounts on everything from cars to clothes.

Sales on Singles' Day last year for Alibaba totaled $9.3 billion, up from $5.8 billion the previous year.

The company's sales this year are expected to reach $13.7 billion, according to IDC data cited by Bloomberg.

By comparison, Americans are expected to spend $5.7 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, the largest online sales days in the US, according to Adobe's Digital Index.

Singles Day is held on November 11 (11/11) every year.

Here's a look at how much sales have grown for Alibaba's two e-commerce sites, Tmall and Taobao Marketplace, on the shopping holiday over the years.

In the past, the websites have offered 50% discounts on items like boyfriend body pillows and hoodies that read "I am single because I am fat." Bargain hunters could also find deep discounts on crystal chandeliers, French wines, and even BMWs. 

The holiday hasn't always been about shopping. Six years ago, only about two dozen companies were offering discounts on Singles' Day, also known as "Double 11."

American retailers are planning to participate in this year's sales, including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Macy's.

The shopping event means mail carriers will get inundated with packages over the next couple weeks.

Within 24 hours of the event last year, Alibaba said it had already shipped more than 278 million orders, up from the 150 million packages it shipped during that period the previous year.