随着互联网的发展,网络逐渐成为消费者购物的热门渠道之一。网络购物在中国社会消费品零售总额中的比例已经从2005年的0.24%快速增长到2010年上半年的3%,网络购物的交易规模从2005年到2010年的平均年增长率达到97%。
截至2010年6月,中国网民规模达到4.2亿,互联网普及率攀升至31.8%。中国的互联网处在发展的上升阶段,发展潜力较大,网络普及率的提升为网络购物行业提供了良好的用户基础。
综合各类网络应用来看,商务交易类使用仍然处于较低的水平,网络购物普及率到2010年6月仅为33.8%,但是商务交易类用户增长率最快,达到31.4%。随着个人可支配收入的提高以及网络购物群体的日益成熟,网络购物交易额将在整体经济的大好环境下保持较高较快的上升势头。
网络购物按服务模式分为B2C(企业对消费者)领域和C2C(消费者对消费者)领域。中国网络购物市场的主要服务模式是C2C。2009年网络购物爆发式增长,其中C2C就贡献了总交易额的89%。而在C2C购物平台中,淘宝网占据了最大的份额,2010年上半年,它的市场份额达到83.5%。
随着中国电子商务的发展,凭借着正规的进货渠道、完善的售后服务,目前交易规模相对较少的B2C领域将会得到较快的发展,而C2C的增长率将会逐年下降。
目前中国B2C网站的竞争还在不断加剧,各个企业都在通过促销、品类扩充、服务完善等不同的措施,积极抢占市场份额。除了原先的京东商城、卓越网和当当网外,平台式销售网站淘宝网和百度有啊都在积极向B2C领域转型。
与此同时,多个自主销售式B2C购物网站也都在大力扩展商品的种类,例如红孩子从原来母婴用品销售商努力变身为包含化妆品、家居、健康用品的百货商城;而销售3C数码产品起家的京东商城也从2009年初开始涉足日用百货和家居。商品多元化可能会成为B2C网站未来的一条出路。
图:2010年上半年中国自主销售B2C购物网站市场份额
整理:水清木华研究中心
此外,随着中国手机用户的快速增长,使得电子商务企业也将目光投向了移动电子商务市场。目前一些购物网站已经在移动支付、移动IM、移动旺铺等领域开始战略布局,率先从互联网平移到移动互联网平台。
而面对网民的网上购物热潮,谷歌、百度等搜索引擎都开始推出购物搜索的服务。网易旗下的有道购物搜索已经能够为消费者提供超过200家B2C商城的商品搜索。
传统巨头利用自身优势也在加速布局B2C。富士康投资飞虎乐购(efeihu.com),中粮投资我买网,是在利用自身制造业优势。中国邮政投资邮乐网,苏宁电器集团的苏宁易购,则是充分利用自身的渠道或物流优势。
2010年,团购网站的兴起为中国网民带来一种新型的网络购物方式,由于它提供的多是服务类型产品而受到消费者的热捧。这也使得2010年上半年成为这一新行业的爆炸成长期。
Benefitting from the rapid development of the Internet, online shopping has become more and more popular among consumers, with the share in China’s total retail sales of social consumer goods increasing from 0.24% in 2005 to 3% in H1 2010, and the trading volume growing at a CAGR of 97% during 2005-2010.
As of June 2010, China had 420 million netizens, and Internet penetration rate had climbed to 31.8% as well. Now, China’s Internet is developing upward and full of potential. Thus, the increasing improvement in Internet penetration rate has provided a good user basis for the online shopping industry.
As far as Internet application is concerned, the application of business transaction is still at a lower level. By June 2010, the penetration rate of online shopping was only 33.8%. However, the number of business transaction users witnessed the fastest growth rate, reaching 31.4%. As the personal disposable income successively increases, and online shopping customer group increasingly becomes mature, online shopping trading volume will see a robust upward trend in the good macroeconomic environment.
The online shopping can be categorized into B2C (Business to Consumer) and C2C (Consumer to Consumer) by service mode. In China, C2C takes an overwhelming lead in the online shopping market. Online shopping experienced a robust growth in 2009, and C2C contributed to 89% of the total trading volume. Among C2C shopping platforms, Taobao holds the largest share, which achieved 83.5% in H1 2010.
With China’s e-commerce development, B2C, with smaller trading volume at present, will develop rapidly relying on legitimate product supply channels and comprehensive after-sales services, while C2C growth will drop year by year.
Currently, China’s B2C websites are experiencing growing competition, and striving for more market shares through promotion, category expansion and service improvement. Besides 360buy, Joyo Amazon and Dangdang, C2C companies such as Taobao and Baidu Youa are shifting to the B2C field.
In the meantime, many independent-sales B2C shopping websites are vigorously expanding their commodity varieties. For example, Redbaby has expanded from a store purely selling maternity and baby products to a general merchandise shopping mall selling cosmetics, household and health supplies; 360buy, originally a 3C digital products seller, also begun to sell daily necessities and household supplies in early 2009. Therefore, commodity diversification is likely to be a way out for B2C websites in the future.
Market Shares of China’s Independent-sales B2C Shopping Websites, H1 2010
Source: ResearchInChina
In addition, the rapid growth in China’s cell phone users has turned e-commerce companies’ attention to the mobile e-commerce market. Now, some shopping websites have already begun their strategic deployment in fields such as mobile payment, mobile IM and mobile store, and taken the lead in migrating from the Internet to mobile Internet platforms.
Search engines like Google and Baidu have started to present shopping search services in line with the increasingly popular online shopping. Youdao, NetEase's search engine, is able to provide consumers with the search for the commodities of over 200 B2C shopping malls.
Traditional giants have also sped up the B2C deployment through their own advantages. Taking advantage of their manufacturing strength, Foxconn and COFCO invested in Efeihu.com and Womai.com respectively; State Post and Suning Appliance, making full use of their channel or logistics advantages, respectively invested in Ule.tom.com and Suning.cn.
In 2010, the rise of group purchase websites has brought a new way of online shopping for Chinese netizens. Mostly providing service-type products, such websites have become popular among consumers, and experienced explosive growth in H1 2010.