According to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), China’s cross-border e-commerce trade increased 9.6% year over year to 577.6 billion yuan (about 81.3 billion US dollars) in the first quarter of this year.
According to the ministry, the nation’s e-commerce imports and exports with partners in the Silk Road e-commerce, including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Hungary, and Cambodia, expanded quickly during that time.
The MOC stated that the rate of global e-commerce collaboration has quickened and that it has arranged for Chinese e-commerce platforms to do roadshows abroad for the first time. According to the government, Chinese e-commerce companies connected with around 60 small and medium-sized businesses in Italy through this kind of effort.
According to the MOC, service consumption continued to be the main driver of the rise in the first quarter, when national online retail sales hit 3.3 trillion yuan, up 12.4 percent from the previous year.
With over half of all e-commerce transactions occurring there, China is the world’s largest e-commerce market. eMarketer reports that over 710 million digital buyers made up China’s online retail transaction base, with $2.29 trillion in transactions in 2020 and projections of $3.56 trillion by 2024. China surpassed the US as the top e-commerce market in 2021, bringing in $1.5 trillion in revenue.
Internet usage has increased dramatically among the Chinese population.
China currently has more than 1b internet users, and nearly 30 million surfed the web for the first time in 2018. China surpassed 100 million internet users in 2005, and today there more internet users in China than the combined populations of the United States, Indonesia and Brazil, three of the world’s most populous countries.
China’s internet users are big fans of online shopping.
Last year during China’s biggest e-commerce event, the Alibaba Singles Day shopping festival, sales exceeded US$25 billion over a 24-hour period, setting a new record.
Mobile penetration is broad and deep, with an unprecedented rise in mobile payments.
China has emerged as a front-runner in mobile payments. The penetration rate for mobile payments in the country reached 86 percent, the highest in the world, by the end of 2023. However, the widespread use of mobile payments also poses hurdles for first-time visitors to China.
A vast logistics ecosystem supports the growth of China’s e-commerce market.
Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com have found success in part by developing highly efficient systems and networks to deal with the delivery of orders. China’s e-commerce industry has fueled the rise of several domestic delivery firms including SF Express, which is now looking to build an international presence.
A lack of retail infrastructure in lower-tier cities drives Chinese consumers online.
The Chinese middle class has grown rapidly in recent years, with the figure currently at 400 million or about a third of China’s total population. Yet for those who live in lower-tier cities, retail infrastructure such as stores, warehouses and roads, is not as well developed as in first-tier cities. With limited options, consumers in lower-tier cities go online for more variety and options than they could ever have on their doorstep.
Shayne Heffernan
