China 360 E-Commerce in China: Driving a New Consumer Culture

China 360

E-commerce in China: Driving a new consumer culture

January 2014

In China’s e-commerce 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the Chinese government’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology unveiled policies to make China a global e-commerce leader, in line with China’s transition from an investment-heavy growth model, towards a more consumption-driven model. Nonetheless, the speed at which the Chinese e-commerce industry has grown, and the way in which it is affecting businesses and consumers has come as a surprise to many: by the end of 2013, China will lead all other countries in B2C and C2C purchases.1 Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, was recently quoted as saying: “in other countries, e-commerce is a way to shop, in China it is a lifestyle”2 No matter how you slice . the numbers, trends or forecasts, it’s clear that e-commerce is booming in China.

This month’s China 360 breaks down China’s explosive e-commerce growth within the business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-toconsumer (C2C) arenas. Of particular interest are the home-grown platforms underpinning the rise of on-line transactions, as well as the increasingly important roles of social media and mobile devices. These trends and others are fundamentally re-shaping the ways Chinese consumers purchase goods and services. This article also highlights the importance of knowing exactly who your consumers are, how they make their purchases online, and highlights some foreign and domestic success stories in the market.

1. He Wei. ‘China set to overtake US in e-commerce’. China Daily. August 28, 2013 http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2013-08/28/content_16927926.htm 2. ‘E-commerce in China: Gain entrance into a completely different world’. Group of Companies, June 16, 2013 http://www.ptl-group.com/blogs/e-commerce-in-china-gain-entrance-into-a-completely-different-world

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