China on the move
Ecommerce Europe has calculated the current numbers based on 2013, when online turnover grew 23.6 % to 1.55 trillion dollars (1.25 trillion euro). The bulk came from Asia, representing 567.3 billion dollars (460 billion euro) online. Europe reached 482.3 billion dollars (390 billion euro), while North American sales reached 452.4 billion dollars (370 billion euro).
The largest single market is still the United States, but China is moving up the ranks – with the UK still in third. Chinese eCommerce grew 78.5 %, mainly thanks to the further growth of Alibaba. If the expectations come true, China will surpass the United States this year.
Surprisingly, China is not in the top 10 of countries with the biggest average spend per purchase. Only 45.5 % of its population has access to the internet, which means there is plenty of growth potential in China.