Thee-businesslaunchofanonlineshoppingcarnival.CONSUMERSworldwidehaveembracedthelatestcyberpurchasingpassion鈥搊verseasonlineshopping.Fromdailynecessitieslikemeals,toothpaste,andslippers,tofurniture,electricalappliances,garments,andluxuryitems,cybershoppersnowhaveaglobalscaleofchoice.Chinahasbeenforemostinthefurorofthislatestshoppingmode,notonlyasitsmostpopularsource,butalsoforitsabundanceofavidoverseasonlineshoppers.
ShoppingonChineseWebsites
InternetretailerAlibabacleaneduponcemoreduringlastyear鈥檚November11onlineshoppingbonanza,nicknamedtheDouble11Festival,partlythankstoitsoverseaspatrons.ThecommoditiesavailableonChinesewebsitesindeedattractmanyshoppersfromabroad.
SinceBritishmultinationalgrocerandgeneralmerchandiseretailerTescointroducedtheLaoganmabrandofchilisauce,highlyrecommendedbytheNewYorkTimes,ithasbeenafavoritebothwithChineseoverseasstudentsandtheirlocalpeers.
AmericanhousewifeDebbiereportedlyspendsonethirdofhersparetimesurfingChinesewebsitesforbargainsandsmartoutfitsthataremuchadmiredbyherneighbors.
InRussia,around15millioncitizenssurfChineseshoppingwebsites.AsurveyofonlineconsumptiontrendsshowedthatChina鈥檚TaobaoisthemostpopularshoppingwebsiteamongnetizensinJapan鈥搆eenpurchasersoftheChineseDabaocosmeticbrand,whoseproductssellonlineforjustonetenthofthepriceatJapaneseretailers鈥搕heU.S.,Russia,andtheEU.
Inadditiontotheirhighproductquality,thepopularityofChineseproductsisattributablealsotonetworkadvances.Resultsofasurveyamongforeignconsumersshowedthat,in2012onlythreepercentofrespondentscouldnameevenoneChinesebrand,butby2015thisfigurehadrisento23percent.
ShoppingonChinesewebsitesisnowcommonplaceabroad.ThePayPalandIpsosThirdAnnualGlobalReportshowedthatChinaisthemostpopularoverseasonlineshoppingcountry.
Thereportexaminedtheconsumptionhabitsofmorethan280milliononlineshoppersin32countriesworldwide.Itfoundthataround21percentbuyfromChinesewebsites,17percentfromthoseintheU.S.,and13percentfromU.K.websites.Shopperssurveyedsoughthighquality,low-pricedgoods.Around76percentpatronizedoverseasonlineshoppingduetofavorableprices,and65percentbecausetheycouldthusobtaingoodsunavailableintheirhomecountries.Another46percentappreciatedthefreedeliveries,and44percentthemoresecurepaymentmode.
Manyshoppersmakepurchasesonsmartphones,particularlyintheAsiaPacificregion.Thereportshowedthatabout37percentofoverseasshoppingintheregioniscarriedoutonmobiledevices,especiallysmartphones,andthataround68percentofconsumerstherehaveshoppedbyphoneoverthepast12months.MobileshoppinginChinahasalsosignificantlyincreasedinrecentyears.In2016spendingviasmartphonesaccountedfor35percentofthetotalvolumeofoverseasonlineshopping.Thefigurein2015was27percent.
ExpandingYearly
AsoverseasconsumersfocusonChinesewebsites,ChinesecustomersalsousetheInternettobrowsecommoditiesontheoverseasmarket.Chinesepeople鈥檚daily-usearticlesoftenincludeproductsfromaroundtheworld,suchasJapanesepharmaceuticals,Australianhealthcareproducts,Koreancosmetics,Frenchfashiongarments,andSriLankantea,mostofwhichareboughtonline.
Recentonlineshoppingfestivalsgeneratedhugeprofitsformanye-commerceplatforms.Duringthefirst10minutesofNovember11,2016,theamountofriceorderedfromwww.JDincreased100-fold,andJD鈥檚globalpurchaseordersregisteredayear-on-yeargrowthof170percent.About13,000internationalbrandswereincludedintheTmallonlineshoppingfestival,whenittookjust9.5hoursforTmalltosurpassits2015Double11Festivalsalesvolume.Theamountofwww.tepin.hkorderswasalso5.5-foldthatof2015.
BlackFriday,anothermanicshoppingfestival,iswhenoversease-commerceplatformssuchasAmazonandymatourecommendthousandsofproductstoconsumers.JD鈥檚globalpurchasinghasalsolaunchedservices,suchaspanicandlowpricebuying.AmazonChina,meanwhile,offersPrimemembership,whileAlipaysupportsglobalpaymentscoveringmorethan200countriesandregions.
Owingtotheireverbroadeningrangeofconsumertastesandpurchasedemands,Chineseconsumershavebecomethemainforcebehindoverseasonlineshopping.ThePayPalandIpsosSecondAnnualGlobalReportunderlines2015asasignificantyearinthisrespect,asitwasthenthataround35percentofChineseconsumersoptedforoverseasonlineshopping,comparedto26percentin2014.
ThescopeofChineseoverseasonlineshoppingexpandsyearly,coveringmorethantwomilliontypesofcommoditiesfrom100countriesandregions.Thereportshowedthatin2015,around22percentofChineseonlinebuyerspurchasedfromAmericanwebsites,ascomparedwith14percentin2014.PurchasesbyChineseconsumersalsoshowed10percentgrowthinJapanandSouthKorea,duetotheirhighqualitygoodsatfavorableprices,andaccesstoproductsnotavailableinChina.
Insidersreportthatthefrequencyin2016ofChineseoverseasonlineshoppingwas18timesperbuyer,ascomparedtotheseventimesof2015.TheaverageamountexpendedwasoverRMB10,000鈥搕hehighestmorethanRMB900,000.AccordingtoChinaE-businessResearchCenterprojections,thenumberofChineseoverseasonlineshopperswillhit35.6millionin2018,equaltoamorethanRMBonetrillionmarket.
OnlineandOfflineService
Alongwithdevelopmentofe-business,anOmni-channelsalesmodelintegratingonlineandofflineserviceisnowavailable鈥揳ninnovationinsidersbelievewillproveanirresistibletrend.Forthenexttwodecades,e-businesswillundoubtedlycombinewithofflineserviceandlogistics.
TheBlackFridaysalespromotionoffersconsumersadazzlingarrayofgoods.RECIPROCALAsoverseasconsumersfocusonChinesewebsites,ChinesecustomersalsousetheInternettobrowsecommoditiesontheoverseasmarket.
Manymerchantsarealreadytakingthefirststepsinthisdirection.Incontrastwithearlieryears,in2016Alibabafocusedonbothonlineandofflineservices,linkingmorethanonemilliononlinestoresandofferingdigitizationtomorethan100,000physicalstores.JDalsocooperatedwithWalmartinthelead-uptolastyear鈥檚onlineshoppingfestival.DuringBlackFridayin2016,theFriendship&ApolloGrouplauncheditsOmni-channelmodeofferingonlineshoppersproductsfrom50countriesandregions.Thegrouphasopenedadozenoverseasshoppingexperiencecentersforlocalconsumers.
AccordingtoadvisorybodyIDC,duringthe2016Double11Festival,themainachievementofOmni-channeldistributionbecameclear;furthermeshingsupplychains,logisticsandusersappreciablyeasesantagonismbetweenstoreretailande-business.
Thisintegrationishappeningnationwide.Hangzhou鈥檚Cross-borderTradingTownincludesnationalandthemedpavilionsfromOceania,Europe,Asia,andAmerica.Theyofferthousandsofpopularitems,fromcosmetics,healthcareproducts,andfooditemstomotherandbabyproducts,householdappliances,andgarments.Consumerscantrythemoutthereandthen,andbuythesetaxablecommoditieseitherdirectlyfromthestoreoronline.Productsaredeliveredfrombondedwarehouse,socoveringtheentireprocessfromofflineexperiencetoonlineshopping.
Expertsbelievethatonline-offlineintegrationisthefutureofcommercialdevelopment.Itcanalsopromotecityandcountrysideintegrationbygivingfullplaytoeachone鈥檚respectiveadvantages,achievebetterservice,lowercost,higherefficiency,andsobettersatisfyconsumerdemandsandgraduallyequalizetheunevendevelopmentofChina鈥檚ecommerce.In2016,thegovernmentalsointroducede-commercetoruralareas,communitiesandsmalltomedium-sizedcitiesineffortstohastenintegrationofonlineandofflinedevelopment.
LUOLANisareporteratthePeople鈥檚DailyOverseasEdition.
ChineseproductssuchasLaoganmaareinhighdemandbyoverseasChineseinSingapore.