China E-Commerce
China Consumers Favor Mobile Commerce
Mobile payment services in China saw strong growth in 2013. A new report from iResearch, an online tracking and data analysis firm, shows that independent mobile commerce platforms have found a great deal of support from Chinese consumers. People throughout the country are turning to these platforms in order to shop online and pay for products with their mobile device rather than with physical currency. As device ownership continues to grow, mobile commerce is expected to become much more prevalent throughout the country. Chinese consumers favour mobile commerce services because of their convenience and the fact that they allow people to manage their finances from their mobile devices rather than being forced to do so at home from their computers. The iResearch report also suggests that mobile shopping is no longer the main attractor of most mobile commerce platforms. According to the report, online money transfers and banking features are quickly becoming the main reason people use these platforms. As these services see more attention from consumers, their use of NFC technology is beginning to diminish. China has established itself as a very active and attractive mobile market. Not only are mobile payments flourishing throughout the country, but mobile games are also generating a great deal of profit and economic activity. Advertisers in China are also beginning to focus on mobile consumers more aggressively, launching interactive mobile marketing campaigns that are designed to be more dynamic than traditional marketing initiatives.
Source: Mobile Commerce Press
China E-Commerce
Chinese New Year Market Snapshot
China's consumer market boomed during the first few days of the Lunar New Year holiday despite falling luxury gift sales, according to the country's Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday. In the first four days of the week-long Spring Festival holiday, the most important traditional holiday in China, consumer market sales expanded steadily and quickly, the ministry said in a statement on its website. Without giving nationwide figures, the ministry said consumer market sales in the cities of Beijing and Chengdu had risen by 9.2% and 13% year on year respectively. According to the ministry, sales in Shaanxi, Anhui and Henan provinces grew by 14.3%, 11.2% and 10.4% respectively. Online business and the catering, tourism and entertainment sectors have also prospered during the holiday, according to the ministry. Sales of luxury gifts such as expensive alcoholic beverages and rare seafood, which are sometimes sent as gifts to officials during the holiday, have fallen sharply. Experts have viewed the drop as a direct result of the central government's anti-graft and frugality campaign.
Source: Want China Times