According to data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China could overtake the US in 2013 as the world’s largest online retail market, if the country’s e-retail sales hit USD 280 billion at the end of 2013. US e-commerce sector has accounted for USD 225 billion in 2012, according to the US Department of Commerce, and the current US e-retail growth rate of 16 percent would bring the 2013 total to USD 261 billion.
The MIIT report indicates that during the period under review, online sales have accounted for 7.7 percent of retail sales of consumer goods. The same source unveils that mobile internet traffic has increased by 62.6 percent and sales from mobile devices have grown by 55.8 percent. Results show that more mobile traffic and sales can be expected as Chinese consumers have purchased 244.4 million mobile phones in H1 2013, with 91 percent (or 222.4 million) of them being smartphones.
The study also mentions that when including online purchases by businesses, total e-commerce in China has actually reached USD 810 billion in H1 2013, an increase of 45.3 percent from the same period a year ago.
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