E-commerce in China does not work the same way it does in the US and other developed countries, where Amazon prevails above all websites. In fact, e-commerce developed on a traditional network of retail stores in those countries.
In China, instead, the main platform used is Alibaba, and its origin lies on a structural lack. The potential market counts 667 million users and the demand is supposed to increase to $611bn compared to $471bn of US market (source Sole 24 ore).
Alibaba launched e-commerce in China through TaoBao website in 2003, starting by importing a foreign model, similar to eBay, to generate curiosity and observe reactions of Chinese customers, and creating a market place where buyers and sellers meet, in such a way to help small businesses to commerce despite the infrastructural deficiency. However, over time, Alibaba adapted the structure to Chinese clients and today TaoBAo and Tmall own the 70% of the Chinese e-commerce market. There are there main companies that manage the Chinese e-market: Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, each of them strongly respectively in a different sector, commerce, social and services.
The main ability of the company has been to turn a disadvantage (infrastructural deficiency) into an opportunity, by creating a completely innovative and highly advanced online platform, smart logistics apps unknown to the Western world (it’s thought for smartphones).
This model is expanding also in other developing countries and has the potential to become Amazon antagonist.
*Image Sources: Più economia.com; Wallstreetpost.com
