eCommerce market in Greater China

Greater China is the largest market for eCommerce with a predicted revenue of US$2,131,037.2 million by 2025, placing it ahead of the United States. Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2025-2029) of 7.1%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$2,809,009.5 million by 2029. With an expected increase of 10.3% in 2025, the Chinese eCommerce market contributed to the worldwide growth rate of 9.8% in 2025. Like in Greater China, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase over the next years. Seven markets are considered by ECDB within the Chinese eCommerce market. Fashion is the largest market and accounts for 36.1% of the Chinese eCommerce revenue. It is followed by Electronics with 26.4%, Care Products with 10.8%, Grocery with 9.1%, Furniture & Homeware with 6.7%, Hobby & Leisure with 6.1%, and DIY with the remaining 4.7%.

The online share refers to the proportion of the retail volume that is transacted via the Internet. It includes purchases via desktop PC, tablet or smartphone, both via website or app. Only retail of physical goods is taken into account. In the Chinese retail market, the online share is 30.1% and will increase by an average of 2.7% to 33.5% by 2029.

The biggest player in the Chinese eCommerce market is jd.com. The store had a revenue of US$117,156.6 million in 2024. Store rankings include every store that generates revenue in Greater China. These stores can either have a national focus and only sell in their main country or operate on a global scale. For this evaluation, only revenue created in Greater China was considered.

The Chinese eCommerce market in 2024 in terms of offered payment methods is fragmented and highly competitive with Ali Pay (E-wallets) covering the largest share with 57.1% of all online stores checked. Other offered payment methods in the Chinese eCommerce market in 2024 are WeChat (E-wallets) with 45.1%, VISA (Cards) with 43.8%, and Mastercard (Cards) with 43.8%. With 30.9% Bank transfer/cash in advance (Bank transfer) still has a considerable market share amongst the offered payment methods compared to Ali Pay (E-wallets).

Despite SF Express's dominant position with 68.3% of online stores opting for its services, the Chinese eCommerce market in 2024 remains diverse and competitive. Several other shipping service providers, including EMS, ZTO Express, Own delivery service, and STO Express, hold smaller but significant shares, contributing to a dynamic and fragmented market.