With the boom in information technology, the use of the internet has become widespread for a variety of purposes. People all around the globe are using the internet for a myriad of reasons; some use it for working, shopping, studying and for entertainment. The cyber population has been rising in every country. The same is applicable to China. It has been revealed that for consumption target, the rising number of internet users augurs well. Collectively referred to as the 3C, consumer electronics, computers and communication devices have seen an increase in sales in China with the help of online channels. This has been revealed in a report.

A semi-official organization called the China Internet Network Information Center released this report in which it was stated that domestic consumption will be spurred by electronic commerce. This is due to the fact that the number of online shoppers is rising along with the number of internet users in China, which have reached a record high. From 194 million in 2011, the number of e-commerce users found in mainland China rose to 242 million. Online payment users also increased in 2012 by a whopping 54 million to 220.7 million. The traditional retail sector’s growth is slowing down due to which the value of the cyber economy is becoming more and more important.

During the first three quarters of 2012, China reported to have had a 34.5% increase in the turnover of its online retail sector. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had provided this report which said the turnover was $122.13 billion. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, negative 5.5% of growth was represented by China’s exports whereas 105.5% contribution to the GDP was made by the domestic demand. The CNNIC stated that the entire retail industry of the country and the 3C market was being powered by internet users of the nation that totaled to 564 million.

According to the report, Chinese internet users were mainly the urban residents who have a lot of spending power because they have high incomes and are well-educated as well. In a recent report, it was further highlighted that in 2012, 10% of the total sales of household electrical appliances were contributed by online shopping. Top online retailers of China had initiated cut-throat price wars in 2012 as a way of luring more and more customers. Hardware makers in China are hoping that their sales will be increased through online channels.

In China, companies remain the major 3C product dealers. The first prominent Chinese company that chose e-commerce channels as a platform for product distribution was Xiaomi Corp, which is a local smartphone maker and has the hopes of becoming China’s equivalent of Apple Inc. Amongst the products that were sold online, sportswear, electronic devices and mother and baby care products topped the list. On the other hand, furniture, foods and everyday goods have very less sales online. Thus, it can be predicted that the online market will continue to expand in the upcoming years and China’s industries will benefit from it.

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