China’s ecommerce market is expected to surpass that of the US in 2013, according to a new report.
Management consultancy firm Bain & Company said that online shopping expenditure in China is expected to reach $539bn by 2015.
The report noted that the overall spending by Chinese consumers on online shopping reached $212.4bn in 2012, compared to $228.7bn in the US.
About 70% of Chinese customers will explore products and evaluate their prices online and offline, as well as across different e-stores, with about half of them citing price as the major reason for shopping online, the report added.
Bain partner Serge Hoffmann said that it is a massive change.
"It just means you need to be on the web, whether you like it or not," he said.
"Whether you’re an online player or an offline player, you need to have a meaningful, credible presence on the web."
The report also said that two-thirds of customers use smartphones to browse for or buy products, which is a bit more than that by the US.
