As investors in the US bet that traditional stores will not survive the “Amazon effect”, bricks and mortar stores in China’s $4.8tn retail market have maintained annual sales growth of about 10 per cent even as its ecommerce sector has become the world’s largest.
China’s two largest ecommerce platforms Alibaba and JD.com racked up $44bn in gross merchandise value during this month’s Singles Day sales promotion. The haul symbolises the explosive growth in online sales in China, which last year were twice that of the US.
Among those Chinese shoppers who use ecommerce, more than 46 per cent of their retail purchases are made online, analysis by consultancy Mintel suggests. According to consultancy Euromonitor, about 35 per cent of Chinese consumer electronics purchases are made over the internet. But physical retailers are finding ways to survive and thrive.