Chinese eCommerce Market Continues to Grow Thanks to a Stronger Middle Class and Technology

According to a research report by PWC, China is already the largest retail e-commerce market in the world. Online retailing is expected to grow from 17% of total retail sales in 2017 to 25% by 2020.

The strong economic growth in China has produced a growing middle class. China today is characterized by mobile-first consumer behavior and vibrant social commerce adoption. The report indicates that the current scale of the e-commerce market and the growth trajectory of it, made e-commerce a major strategic priority of most retailers and brands.

Chineseinvestors.com, Inc. (OTC: CIIX), Weibo Corp. (NASDAQ: WB), Alibaba Group Holding Limited. (NYSE: BABA), JD.com Inc (NASDAQ: JD), Momo Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO)

A report by Emarketer explains that total cross-border e-commerce sales in China are expected to reach $100.17 billion by the end of 2017, with the average spend per cross-border digital buyer at $882.

“The factors fueling the trend toward greater cross-border shopping are nothing new, as the average Chinese consumer is now more tech savvy, more exposed to foreign brands through overseas travel and the internet and, crucially, more willing to spend,” said Shelleen Shum, senior forecasting analyst, according to Emarketer.

Chineseinvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) yesterday announced that, “its wholly owned foreign enterprise, CBD Biotechnology Co. Ltd., has teamed up with Chinese beauty influencer, The Godfather of Beauty, for the launch of its “CBD Magic Hemp Series” skincare line on China’s largest e-commerce retailer Alibaba.

Within minutes of its launch on the ‘China Taobao Live Broadcasting Celebrity Show’, over 91 units from the CBD Magic Hemp Series skincare line were purchased by excited consumers, with over 40,000 views during the first broadcast. See broadcast at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsKEv-4-Dyw.

Taobao, part of the Alibaba Group, is the largest shopping site in Asia with upwards of 500 million registered users. With years of experience in live, online marketing on the Taobao Platform, “The Godfather of Beauty is an Internet celebrity with over 60,000 active followers. Through its partnership with Taobao and with The Godfather of Beauty, the Company has an amazing opportunity to expand its e-commerce presence in China through live product demonstrations and social interaction with fans.”

“It is well documented that ancient Chinese recognized the medicinal properties of the hemp plant. Now this ancient remedy is re-emerging in the Chinese skincare industry and CBD Biotechnology Co. Ltd. is pleased to be among the first to bring such a novel skincare line to market,” says Warren Wang, CEO of ChineseInvestors.com, Inc.

“The success of the initial launch of the CBD Magic Hemp Series skincare line on Taobao solidifies our belief that Chinese consumers recognize that the anti-inflammatory agents and anti-oxidants contained in hemp-extract can have positive effects on the skin.”

“We are excited about the Company’s partnerships with Taobao and The Godfather of Beauty and are pleased with consumer reaction to the initial launch and product,” says CBD Biotechnology Co. Ltd. CEO, Summer Yuan. “China is the second largest cosmetics consumer market in the world with a market size of more than 300 billion CNY, or roughly 45 billion USD. With such a large consumer audience, we see huge possibilities for continued growth and plan to continue to develop new, innovative products for the Chinese market and will continue to partner with dynamic influencers throughout mainland China to spread the word about the CBD Magic Hemp Series product line. We anticipate explosive growth in the coming year.”

Weibo Corp. (NASDAQ: WB) is a leading social media platform for people to create, distribute and discover Chinese-language content. Since its inception in 2010, Weibo has amassed a large user base.

In December 2016, Weibo had 313 million MAUs and 139 million average DAUs, increasing from 236 million MAUs and 106 million average DAUs in December 2015, and 176 million MAUs and 81 million average DAUs in December 2014. On November 7, 2017, the company announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017.

For the third quarter of 2017, Weibo reported net revenues of $320.0 million, compared to $176.9 million for the same period last year. Advertising and marketing revenues totaled $276.8 million, compared to $156.7 million for the same period last year,

Alibaba Group Holding Limited. (NYSE: BABA) aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. On November 11, 2017, the company announced that it generated nearly US$12 billion of gross merchandise volume (GMV) settled through Alipay in the first two hours of the 2017 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, which saw participation from more than 140,000 brands.

The 11.11 shopping festival began in 2009 with participation from just 27 merchants as an event for merchants and consumers to raise awareness of the value in online shopping.

JD.com Inc (NASDAQ: JD) strives to offer consumers the best online shopping experience. Through its user-friendly website, native mobile apps, and WeChat and Mobile QQ entry points, JD offers consumers a superior shopping experience.

On November 8, 2017, the company announced it participated in a signing ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People, with the company entering agreements to purchase in excess of $1.2 billion of beef from The Montana Stock Growers Association (MSGA) and pork from Smithfield Foods, Inc. over the next three years.

The agreements are part of an overall commitment by JD to purchase $2 billion of U.S. goods across a wide range of categories over three years. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Jr. and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang were in attendance to witness the signing ceremony.

Momo Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO) is one of China’s leading mobile social networking platforms. The company’s platform includes its Momo mobile application and a variety of related features, functionalities, tools and services that it provides to users, customers and platform partners.

Momo has become an integral part of the daily lives of many people in China, where the increasing proliferation of smartphones and network enhancement allow more people to be connected anytime and anywhere.

With powerful and precise location-based features, the company enables its users to connect with each other and expand relationships from online to offline, thereby making their social networking experience more real, personal and multi-dimensional.

Dave Furness

Dave is a Co-Founder of eSeller365. For over 10 years he has been involved with eCommerce with a particular interest in the marketplaces and the huge opportunities available for sellers when utilizing a multi-channel strategy. After a year of being the UK’s youngest eCommerce consultant, he built an education platform called UnderstandingE that showed the world how to utilize Magento as the “Third Generation of Multi-Channel software”.

Dave has also created a YouTube channel dedicated to entrepreneurship and eCommerce as well as a podcast dedicated to mental health awareness. When Dave isn’t working his main interests include learning and playing Chess, researching the Crypto and NFT space, and trying to find the nearest beach.