China is growing from follower to leader in the world of e-commerce, with its consumers showing extraordinary flexibility and willingness to embrace innovation, said McKinsey & Company, a consultancy firm, in a report.
There is robust growth in the country's social commerce and online-to-offline services, a trend toward transforming physical retailers into mere "showrooms", and a dramatic increase in online food purchases and e-commerce users among rural regions, it said.
"Given the rapid rate of experimentation among China's businesses, and the rapid acceptance of new business models by its people, we believe China will lead the way in defining the next generation of social and mobile commerce experiences," said McKinsey.
Let's take a look at the five trends shaping the biggest e-commerce market in the world in 2015.
1. Getting social, going shopping
Social platforms like QQ and WeChat are not only helping 500 million users in China to communicate and access entertainment, they are also shaping behaviors in significant ways, according to the McKinsey iConsumer report.
The survey shows social engagement and purchasing behavior are so intertwined that Chinese interviewees rank their friends' recommendations, both online and offline, as the most important factor in their online shopping decision.
The consultancy expects to see more companies directly selling recommendation-driven products such as cosmetics, healthcare and insurance through social network platforms.
"We believe that mastering social marketing and becoming the first pilot advertisers on platforms like WeChat will separate the winning retailers from the rest," said the report.
New e-commerce guidelines to protect online shoppers
2015-03-13China approves pilot cross-border e-commerce zone
2015-03-13Hangzhou e-commerce pilot zone approved
2015-03-13E-commerce law to have draft version before 2016
2015-03-11Gov‘t must restrict e-commerce firms selling fake goods
2015-03-09E-commerce purchase regulations modified
2015-03-04Expats joining China‘s e-commerce frenzy
2015-03-02Robust e-commerce boosts consumer sentiment in emerging markets
2015-02-06E-commerce hemmed by national boundaries
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