China E-Commerce: Driving New Consumer Culture

In China’s e-commerce 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the Chinese government’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology unveiled policies to make China a global e-commerce leader, in line with China’s transition from an investment-heavy growth model, towards a more consumption-driven model.

Nonetheless, the speed at which the Chinese e-commerce industry has grown, and the way in which it is affecting businesses and consumers has come as a surprise to many: by the end of 2013, China will lead all other countries in B2C and C2C purchases.

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, was recently quoted as saying: “in other countries, e-commerce is a way to shop, in China it is a lifestyle”. No matter how you slice the numbers, trends or forecasts, it’s clear that e-commerce is booming in China.

This issue of China 360 breaks down China’s explosive e-commerce industry within its business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) arenas.

Of particular interest are the home-grown platforms underpinning the rise of on-line transactions, as well as the increasingly important roles of social media and mobile devices.

This paper also outlines the importance of knowing China’s landscape as well as its diverse consumer public and tendencies, while highlighting some foreign and domestic success stories.