China’s E-commerce Transactions Up 25% to RMB13T in 2014

China’s annual e-commerce transaction volume is expected to have soared 25% year-on-year to RMB13 trillion (around US$2.1 trillion) in 2014, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce. The Ministry noted that this figure includes both online business-to-business and retail transactions.

According to the report, online retail sales alone reached RMB2.8 trillion in 2014, up 49.7% YOY.

China’s consumption market maintained sustainable growth over the past year. The annual retail sales of consumer goods rose 12% YOY to RMB26.2 trillion during 2014.

Consumption as a proportion of GDP growth surged 3% to 51.2% in 2014, becoming a major driver of economic growth.

After years of explosive growth, China’s e-commerce remains one of the most eye-catching sectors in the economy, marked by the huge IPOs of industry leaders Alibaba and JD, as well as Single’s Day, the record-breaking 24-hour online shopfest.

As the country’s urban market is reaching satiation, China’s e-commerce giants started to expand into new markets. As we have written before, cross-border and rural e-commerce are the two hottest e-commerce verticals chased by Chinese online shopping giants.

image credit: ShutterStock

Editing by Mike Cormack (@bucketoftongues)