China E-Commerce
Asia’s Half-Trillion Dollar E-Commerce Market
Go Globe’s new infographic on e-commerce in Asia is stunning in two ways. Visually, it’s very appealing. What’s more, the information it contains is pretty mind-blowing as well. Some highlights on the Chinese side of things are as follows.
- China’s e-commerce spending is double that of Japan. It is projected that Chinese online shoppers will spend $274.5 billion in 2014, as compared to just $127 billion in Japan.
- 60% of online spending in Asia is done by Chinese consumers.
- 74% of Chinese mobile phone users utilize their devices for product price comparisons and reviews, as compared to just 43% for the global average.
Source: Go Globe
China E-Commerce
Alibaba Aqcuires a Majority Stake in ChinaVision Media for $804 Million
Alibaba has acquired 60% of ChinaVision Media, a company that provides a myriad of media-related services, such as newspapers, movies, mobile content, television program promotions, artist management, and more. The company directly invests in movies as well as licensing content from third-party content providers. Alibaba has been developing Aliyun OS, which is an Android-based operating system for smartphones and smart TVs. The OS on its own doesn’t seem to be enough to attract users, however, so investing in the content that ChinaVision owns might make it so.
Source: Tech Node
China E-Commerce
Alibaba Works Hard to Sell U.S. Brands in China
The Internet giant will be offering U.S. companies various methods to get their products into China, including via its Alipay payments subsidiary and special shipping methods. ChannelAdvisor, a company that advises other companies with their e-commerce strategy, has teamed up with Alibaba to help U.S. companies easily sell to China using its software. The Chinese generally have a perception that imported goods are better than their domestic counterparts, so this is a very smart move on Alibaba’s part. Alibaba will soon be introducing shipping centers in the U.S. to handle proper packaging, taxes, and other fees that might stand in the way of U.S. companies wanting to sell to China.
Source: Wallstreet Journal
China E-Commerce
Tencent’s New Digital Credit Card
Tencent is now joining the digital credit card game and will be offering its first batch of 1 million digital credit cards on WeChat with China CITIC bank and insurance company Zhong An. Within WeChat, users can enter the My Bankcard interface and directly apply for the digital credit card. Alipay’s got a similar thing going, so what are the differences and similarities between the two cards?
- Both cards will support online and mobile payments, but the WeChat credit card will also allow users to make payments in certain physical stores by scanning QR codes.
- Both cards will save users the hassle of keeping track of physical credit cards.
- Alipay Wallet’s credit line will start at 200 yuan, while WeChat’s service is broken down into three levels of 50 yuan, 200 yuan, and 1,000 to 5,000 yuan, depending on credibility of users. Also, WeChat will offer a 50 day interest-free period and will not charge any annual fees.
Source: Tech Node