MINISTRY OF COMMERCE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
MINISTRY OF COMMERCEHead of Department of Electronic Commerce and Informatization of the Ministry of Commerce Comments on the Development of Online Retail Market in the First Three Quarters of 2019
On October 29, the head of Department of Electronic Commerce and Informatization of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the development of China’s online retail market in the first three quarters of 2019.
In the first three quarters of 2019, China’s online retail market maintained steady and fast growth. The national online retail sales totaled 7.32 trillion yuan, up 16.8% year on year. The online retail sales of physical goods were 5.77 trillion yuan, up 20.5% year on year, 12.3 percentage points higher than the total retail sales of consumer goods in the same period, accounting for 19.5% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, up 2.0 percentage points over the same period last year, contributing 43.7% to the growth of the total retail sales of social consumer goods.
China’s online retail market presented the following features in the first three quarters:
First of all, both consumption contents and channels have been upgraded. According to the watchdog of the commercial big data, in the first three quarters, the B2C model with quality and service advantages accounted for 78%, with a year-on-year growth rate of 23.4%, 6.6 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of online retail sales. Sales of cost-effective, intelligent, personalized design and cultural products have grown rapidly. Smart stores and experiential scenes are widely popular among consumers. Before the National Day holiday, online accommodation bookings increased by 11.2% year on year. Five-star hotel bookings increased by 23.5% year on year, indicating that consumers are more willing to pay for quality.
Second, rural e-commerce has maintained good development momentum. The Ministry of Commerce has deepened the comprehensive demonstration of e-commerce in rural areas, actively carried out the construction and promotion of agricultural special product brands in poverty-stricken areas, and promoted the accelerated growth of rural online retail sales. According to the watchdog of the commercial big data, the national rural retail sales in the first three quarters reached 1.2 trillion yuan, up 19.7% year on year, 2.9 percentage points higher than the national total. The national online retail sales of agricultural products amounted to 282.47 billion yuan, up 26.4% year on year. The Ministry of Commerce has guided the China E-Commerce Poverty Alleviation Alliance to actively promote agricultural product brands. More than 100 kinds of special agricultural products have applied for the certification of “pollution-free agricultural product, green product, organic agricultural product and geographical indication of agricultural products.” The sales growth of agricultural products promoted by the E-Commerce Poverty Alleviation Alliance generally exceeds 30%.
Third, the cross-border e-commerce has promoted higher quality and upgrading of foreign trade. According to the watchdog of commercial big data on key e-commerce retail import platform, the retail imports of cross-border e-commerce increased by over 30% year on year. in terms of origins, the imports from Japan, the U.S. and South Korea ranked top 3, accounting for 20.5%, 14.9% and 10.8% respectively. In terms of categories, the imports of cosmetics, cereal & oil foodstuffs and daily necessities ranked the top 3, accounting for 34.6%, 27.6% and 13.8% respectively. Cross-border e-commerce facilitates domestic brands to go global and further establishes China's brand image in the international arena. Silk Road E-commerce has become a new engine for the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. By the end of September, China has established e-commerce cooperation mechanisms with 19 countries.
Fourth, e-commerce and social media integration are booming. Social media, live, and content e-commerce have become important new forms in the e-commerce market, and have maintained rapid growth. The new e-commerce model of social interaction and content sharing is gradually taking shape. E-commerce and social media integration have promoted the diversified development of the e-commerce market, continually stimulated consumption potential, and activated small and medium-sized cities and rural consumer markets. This has become an important force driving domestic demand.
In the first three quarters of 2019, China’s online retail market maintained steady and fast growth. The national online retail sales totaled 7.32 trillion yuan, up 16.8% year on year. The online retail sales of physical goods were 5.77 trillion yuan, up 20.5% year on year, 12.3 percentage points higher than the total retail sales of consumer goods in the same period, accounting for 19.5% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, up 2.0 percentage points over the same period last year, contributing 43.7% to the growth of the total retail sales of social consumer goods.
China’s online retail market presented the following features in the first three quarters:
First of all, both consumption contents and channels have been upgraded. According to the watchdog of the commercial big data, in the first three quarters, the B2C model with quality and service advantages accounted for 78%, with a year-on-year growth rate of 23.4%, 6.6 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of online retail sales. Sales of cost-effective, intelligent, personalized design and cultural products have grown rapidly. Smart stores and experiential scenes are widely popular among consumers. Before the National Day holiday, online accommodation bookings increased by 11.2% year on year. Five-star hotel bookings increased by 23.5% year on year, indicating that consumers are more willing to pay for quality.
Second, rural e-commerce has maintained good development momentum. The Ministry of Commerce has deepened the comprehensive demonstration of e-commerce in rural areas, actively carried out the construction and promotion of agricultural special product brands in poverty-stricken areas, and promoted the accelerated growth of rural online retail sales. According to the watchdog of the commercial big data, the national rural retail sales in the first three quarters reached 1.2 trillion yuan, up 19.7% year on year, 2.9 percentage points higher than the national total. The national online retail sales of agricultural products amounted to 282.47 billion yuan, up 26.4% year on year. The Ministry of Commerce has guided the China E-Commerce Poverty Alleviation Alliance to actively promote agricultural product brands. More than 100 kinds of special agricultural products have applied for the certification of “pollution-free agricultural product, green product, organic agricultural product and geographical indication of agricultural products.” The sales growth of agricultural products promoted by the E-Commerce Poverty Alleviation Alliance generally exceeds 30%.
Third, the cross-border e-commerce has promoted higher quality and upgrading of foreign trade. According to the watchdog of commercial big data on key e-commerce retail import platform, the retail imports of cross-border e-commerce increased by over 30% year on year. in terms of origins, the imports from Japan, the U.S. and South Korea ranked top 3, accounting for 20.5%, 14.9% and 10.8% respectively. In terms of categories, the imports of cosmetics, cereal & oil foodstuffs and daily necessities ranked the top 3, accounting for 34.6%, 27.6% and 13.8% respectively. Cross-border e-commerce facilitates domestic brands to go global and further establishes China's brand image in the international arena. Silk Road E-commerce has become a new engine for the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. By the end of September, China has established e-commerce cooperation mechanisms with 19 countries.
Fourth, e-commerce and social media integration are booming. Social media, live, and content e-commerce have become important new forms in the e-commerce market, and have maintained rapid growth. The new e-commerce model of social interaction and content sharing is gradually taking shape. E-commerce and social media integration have promoted the diversified development of the e-commerce market, continually stimulated consumption potential, and activated small and medium-sized cities and rural consumer markets. This has become an important force driving domestic demand.