eCommerce in China – Top Product Categories

The Chinese eCommerce market is by far the biggest in the world. According to Statista Digital Market Outlook data, the Chinese eCommerce market is currently almost three times as big as its U.S. counterpart and more than eleven times as big as the number three in the ranking of the biggest global eCommerce markets, Japan. What is more, China’s eCommerce market is also experiencing above-average growth in international comparison. Unlike many western economies, eCommerce penetration in China is still rather low, which is why the market has a huge growth potential. Following expectations, China will likely almost hit the US$2 trillion revenue mark by 2025. Time to dive deeper into the Chinese eCommerce world and take a look at consumer behavior. Which product categories do Chinese online shoppers predominantly shop online? The Statista Global Consumer Survey has the details:

The most frequently shopped product categories among online shoppers in China are clothing and shoes. Products from both categories were shopped by more than half of online shoppers in the 12 months prior to the survey, with clothing being slightly in the lead over shoes with 62% vs. 59% of answers. Food & drinks, consumer electronics and cosmetics & body care are also quite popular. Between 41% and 45% of Chinese online shoppers bought products from these categories. The rest of the top 10 categories seem to be less attractive, with less than one in three Chinese online shoppers having bought a product from categories like bags, books, or household appliances online. Depending on the category, there are more or less pronounced differences between genders. The biggest differences can be found in the categories cosmetics & body care and bags & accessories. Of those respondents having bought products from these categories online, around two thirds were women. Consumer electronics on the other hand, were mainly bought by men (57%). The most popular product categories among Chinese online shoppers are partly also reflected in market sizes calculated by the Statista Digital Market Outlook. The market segment Fashion, for example, is also the biggest eCommerce market segment by revenue in China.

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