Tag: alibaba

Report shows that mobile spending is accelerating throughout China

Mobile commerce spending is on the rise in China, according to a new report from eMarketer. The report highlights the growing prevalence of smartphones and tablets among consumers. More consumers are beginning to use these devices to shop online and purchase products. As such, mobile commerce has begun to see explosive growth in China, particularly because large retailers and banks are beginning to show support for mobile spending.

Mobile commerce spending expected to hit $334 billion by the end of this year

The report from eMarketer predicts that mobile commerce spending through smartphones and tablets will reach $334 billion by the end of this year. This represents a record increase of 49.7% in total e-commerce expenditure. The report estimates that retail sales in China’s mobile space are 450% higher than those being made in the United States. Several retailers in China, particularly the country’s largest e-commerce company Alibaba, have begun embracing the concept of mobile commerce and have been showing stronger support for mobile shopping overall.

Companies are looking to bring mobile commerce to China’s rural communities

While mobile commerce is thriving in China’s largest cities, retailers are beginning to branch into rural communities in order to support the further expansion of mobile shopping. Alibaba is working to engage rural communities, where the rate of e-commerce growth is outpacing that being seen in major cities. The company has partnered with China Telecom to launch a low-cost smartphone for those living in rural parts of the country. These smartphones will provide consumers with a way to shop online and purchase products that they are interested in.

Companies are investing more heavily in the mobile space in order to engage new generations of consumers with smartphones and tablets

Mobile commerce spending is likely to continue expanding in China, as the country retains its position as a leading mobile market. Companies like Alibaba have helped mobile shopping thrive throughout the country and they are expected to continue investing in the mobile space in order to effectively engage an evolving group of mobile consumers.

Shopping over smartphones and tablets is moving ahead in a striking way within that country.

Emarketer has now released data that has shown that the m-commerce marketplace in China, representing shopping occurring over smartphones, tablets, and other types of mobile devices, will be reaching $334 billion, this year.

That figure represents a record breaking 49.7 percent of the total expenditure over online channels.

This prediction suggests that over 10 percent of the total retail sales in China will be occurring over m-commerce by next year. This trend in China is an important one, and it is an estimated 450 percent greater than what is going on in the United States. In the U.S., it is believed that sales over mobile commerce will rise by 32.2 percent. The retail sales over smartphones and tablets will represent 22 percent of the total online shopping. That said, from a broader perspective, they will make up only a tiny 1.6 percent of all retail sales in 2015.

This is microscopic next to China’s m-commerce portion of all sales, which is 7.9 percent.

It is clear that the Chinese retail market is seeing notably faster and greater mobile commerce growth than the trend throughout the world. That said, its own marketplace continues its direction toward the digital sphere. Online retailers are working hard to ensure that they are continually prepared to evolve as consumers expect, and they are working hard to help to bring that same ease of shopping into areas of the country that are harder to reach.

Two giants – JD.com and Alibaba – are making major investments into the rural communities of China, where there is the most room for online shopping growth within the country. In fact, the current rate of mobile commerce use is greater in the rural areas than it is in the large urban centers. This makes sense, considering that people in the major cities have a much greater availability and selection of products than those who are away from the ocean of brick and mortar shops.

That said, m-commerce needs to be implemented strategically. Even Alibaba has seen less than one tenth of its online purchases shipped to rural areas despite the massive potential there.