There continues to be an unprecedented growth of online shopping among Chinese consumers. Online shopping frequency and spending amounts continue to increase year by year. Online shoppers’ average spending is around RMB 5,203, narrowing the gap with the U.S. each year. As the age group and income level of the users as well as the proportion of affluent consumers from the third and fourth tier cities increase, Chinese online shoppers desire luxury brands which enhance the quality of life, resulting in a trend of overseas online shopping through purchasing agent. International brands should seize this opportunity. The increasing number of Chinese eCommerce enterprises gives rise to fierce competition in the market as companies fight for users and traffic. eCommerce enterprises are facing common challenges such as increasing costs of acquiring new users and churn rate of existing users. To solve more fundamental management problems, different types of eCommerce enterprises need to establish the right direction of running the business and implement appropriate strategic solutions.

1. Unprecedented Growth of Online Shopping among Chinese Consumers
In China, nearly 50% of online shoppers
purchase at least 1 time in a week, surpassing
the average level of the world#
In 2012, Chinese online shoppers’ per capita
consumption reached RMB5,203 with YOY
growth of 25%#
12.1%
6.8%
RMB5,001-10,000
Over RMB10,000
44%
37.1%
50%
CHINA
Under RMB1,000
shop online at least
once a week
29%
GLOBAL
Only
shop online at least
once a week
RMB1,001-5,000
Consumption Demand of Chinese Online Shoppers
Top 3# Commodities Mostly Purchased by Internet Users
Top 3^ Commodities with Largest
Transaction Proportion
With their spending power increase gradually, they prefer
goods which enhance their quality of life such as clothing,
personal care products, skincare products /cosmetics, health
care products and electrical appliances.
81%
31.6%
29.6%
35%
20%
15%
Clothing, footwear
& accessories
Daily necessities
3C products
Clothing
Entertainment /
Education
Home products
Analysis of Demographics and Purchasing Behaviour of Online Shoppers
33.1% of online shoppers are between age 25
to 30; In China, online shoppers lean towards
the middle-age group of 31 above#.
Online shoppers’ personal monthly income
continued to grow#
30.3%
12.6%
12.6%
10.2%
RMB5,001-8,000
RMB1,001-2,000
Personal
Monthly Income
Users’ Age
7.1%
Above RMB8,000
RMB501-1,000
Under 18
years old
Over 40 years old
12.9%
Under RMB500
7%
18-24 years old
1%
6.2%
36-40 years old
18.4%
33.1%
31-35 years old
25-30 years old
19.2%
RMB2,001-3,000
29.7%
RMB3,001-5,000
∞
Purchasing Behaviour of Men vs Women
Clothing, footwear, luggage
& outdoor products
30.9%
47.3%
21.2%
Mobile phone prepaid package
Clothing, footwear, luggage
& outdoor products
11.7% Cosmetics & personal care
Books & audio-visual publications 7.6%
11.4% Mobile phone prepaid package
Characteristics and Purchasing Behaviour Analysis of Mobile Online Shoppers
When do the Mobile Shoppers Purchase?#
Purchasing Time of Mobile Shoppers&
The personal income of IOS and Android users are
relatively high, mainly work in office with various
break time in between. Before and after work,
lunch time as well as night time are relatively the
peak hours for browsing online.
10.6%
31.8%
During work/
school
Queuing up/
Waiting
Afternoon/Evening
Morning
26.2%
13.9%
Unable to go
online via PC
53.3%
During public
transport
At Home
1%
Others
Low Peak Hrs
High Peak Hrs
Purchasing Behaviour of Chinese online shoppers on eCommerce websites
The increased number of eCommerce
websites has led internet users to be less
loyal to a specific website.
In 2012, the proportion of online shoppers using
only one shopping website accounted for 51.1%.
It has dropped significantly by 10% as compared
with 2011 and by 21.6%# with 2010.
51.1%
Cost for Independent merchants to
acquire new users increase year by year
It is inevitable that the costs for
independent merchants to acquire
new users increase significantly
due to intense competition and
increment of advertising rates. The
cost of acquiring a new user rose
from around RMB20 in 2009 to over
RMB100 in 2012. †
RMB100
RMB20
2012
2009
61.1%
2011
2012
Around 10% Churn Rate of Top eCommerce Websites
The major reason is mainly due to incomplete product range,
leading to user loss of 47.1%#.
72.7%
24.2%
2010
Poor quality
of goods
47.1%
Unable to locate
goods they want
4.5%
Dissatisfactory
after-sales
service
Conclusion
17.8%
Expensive pricing
of goods
2.5%
8.3%
Deceive
consumers
Unable to open
the website
4.5%
Poor delivery
service
Reasons for Users to Stop
Using Specific Website