China: B2C ecommerce market stands first to any other market by growth rate

China is already the second largest B2C ecommerce market worldwide and, as the report notes, it has great potential for future ecommerce business expansion due to, mainly, the growing internet and online shopper penetration, as well as increasing consumption per shopper.

According to the report in question, more than 300 million citizens, accounting for nearly half of internet subscribers in China, made online purchases in 2013.

By 2017, however, estimates indicate more than 500 million online shoppers in China. Chinese online shoppers are prone to mobile affiliation, popularity of price comparison websites and the use of social networks and product reviews. Price and popularity or reputation of the brand and its website stand prime among key decision factors for customer behavior in online shopping.

In 2013, B2C ecommerce sales in the country climbed by more than 60% year-on-year to a notable double-digit number in EUR billion. In 2014, sales are forecasted to top EUR 100 billion with continued rapid growth expected for the next few years.

Meanwhile, as online shopping is growing, regulators in China are working on a new comprehensive ecommerce law. One of the latest regulations introduced was a 7-day free return policy.

Local consumers are among the world’s most active mobile shoppers. In 2013, over 100 million people shopped via mobile internet, more than double the 2012’s level and still reaching only slightly above a quarter of total mobile internet users. Moreover, the m-commerce market is dominated by mobile shopping apps. Nevertheless, messaging apps-based m-commerce is an incipient channel.

Along with the use of mobile devices, other trends in online shopping include the increasing use of social media, group-buying and the purchase of luxury goods. Chinese shoppers are also interested in cross-border ecommerce, with their purchases accounting for the largest part.

Check out our Cross-border Ecommerce Research section here for more info on specific ecommerce facts and figures, preferred payment methods, risk and fraud, as well as ecommerce legislation and regulation in China.