- Alibaba remains the dominant player in China’s B2B e-commerce market with close to 40% market share by revenues, followed by Global Sources Overseas. New users increased rapidly on Alibaba.com in 2015, particularly in Europe, America, and the Middle East.
- Alibaba is predicted to keep growth in sales and users in the next few years.
In 2013, China became the largest e-commerce market worldwide and in just a few years China became the country with the highest number of mobile-based e-commerce transactions worldwide. Experts are predicting a rapid growth of e-commerce in China of more than 50% per annum for the next 5 years.
The social media application Wechat has become a driving force in e-Commerce within China and is now proving to be a force within B2B e-Commerce. Another key factor driving e-Commerce adoption rates in China versus USA is the relative lower shipping costs of US$1 per kg in China versus US$6 per kg in the US.
According to China Internet Watch the Chinese B2B e-commerce industry attracted investment of over 5 billion yuan in 2015 with a year-on-year increase of 700%. The agriculture segment accounted for 28% of total B2B investment received in 2015.
According to IT Orange, Chinese B2B e-commerce companies have evolved from primarily providing product information to platforms supporting transactions and related services. Those services include supply chain financing, logistics and product customization.
More than 30% of steel transactions are processed online in China’s heavily populated and industrialized eastern coastal region.
Here is the breakdown by sector of 2015 investments in Chinese e-commerce companies, according to IT Orange:
- Agriculture products, 31%
- Apparel, 13%
- Steel an iron 10%
- Electronics, 10%
- Chemicals and medicines, 9%
- Oil, 9%
- Construction materials, 6%
- Other (including plastics and coal), 12%
Please contact Greg Downes, gdownes@saiasia.com to discuss your requirements in Asia or elsewhere