China’s e-commerce market is set to achieve a 12.4 per-cent compound annual growth rate, reaching US$3 trillion by 2024, according to GlobalData.
The research predicts China’s e-commerce sales will register a strong growth of 17.2 per cent this year as consumers continue to use online shopping channels during the post Covid-19 period.
Banking and payment analyst at Global Data, Nikhil Reddy, said the rapid growth of China’s e-commerce in the last five years has been supported by high Internet and smartphone penetration, emergence of e-commerce platforms, and the availability of alternative payment solutions such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend as consumers are increasingly using online channels for their purchases,” Reddy said. “The uptrend is likely to continue over the next few years driven by the growing consumer preference, and the emergence of new online payment methods.”
Although China’s retail sales of consumer goods dropped by 3.9 per cent last year, online sales of physical goods surged by 14.8 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Cashless payment solutions have dominated in the country, with Alipay and WeChat accounting for more than half of e-commerce sales.
New payment models, including ‘buy now, pay later’ services are also helping boost online sales.
