There was another strong increase in the Chinese online market last year: compared to 2016, it achieved an astonishing 32 % growth. In that regard, China is performing exceptionally online.
Growth outside of metropolitan areas
China’s total online retail turnover reached 7.18 trillion yuan (930 billion euro), up 32 % compared to 2016. Back then, it “only” managed a 5.43 trillion yuan online turnover. Chinese e-commerce grew 33 % in 2015, but its growth slumped to 26 % in 2016, but it does not seem like that was the start of a new (downward) trend.
The main source of growth came from Chinese consumers living outside of the major urban areas, because these consumers spend 39 % more on web shops in 2017 and currently contribute 17 % to China’s online sales. It is remarkable to see that the Chinese consumer increasingly shops abroad.
Physical product sales, like clothing, grew 28 % to 5.48 trillion yuan (700 billion euro) and represents 15 % of the overall physical product sales, up from 12.6 % the year before. China’s total retail turnover grew 4.6 % in 2017.
