business-to-consumer

Scale also pulls the vast majority of business-to-consumer e-tailers into the orbit of Taobao, the "host" of countless on-line stores.

Tom Doctoroff: E-Commerce in China: Patriarchic Benevolence Tom Doctoroff 2011

Scale also pulls the vast majority of business-to-consumer e-tailers into the orbit of Taobao, the "host" of countless on-line stores.

Tom Doctoroff: E-Commerce in China: Patriarchic Benevolence Tom Doctoroff 2011

B2C sales could triple in the next two years But analysts say a business-to-consumer model like that of Jingdong or Taobao Mall, which takes commissions from merchants on its site, may yield higher margins in the long term than a consumer-trading site like Taobao Marketplace, which doesn't charge transaction or listing fees and gets most of its revenue from advertising.

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011

"Generally what we see is competition will become more fierce in [the business-to-consumer market] in the near future, but it's still more promising than [the consumer-to-consumer market] in the long term," says Duncan Clark , chairman of Beijing-based research firm BDA China Ltd. Online sales by businesses are taking market share from consumer-trading websites in China, especially in the country's biggest cities, Mr. Clark says.

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011

Center of the Battle Sales on Chinese business-to-consumer websites are expected to more than triple to 650 billion yuan, or about $102 billion, in 2013 from around 198 billion yuan, or $31 billion, this year, Beijing research firm Analysys International estimates.

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011

The product range on business-to-consumer sites is growing fast, and they can better guarantee product quality and service.

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011

Much of the money Chinese shoppers spend online flows through Alibaba's sites—Taobao Mall ranked first in online business-to-consumer sales in the second quarter, capturing 33% of the market, compared with 12% for second-place Jingdong, according to Analysys.

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011

More on Alibaba Alibaba's Jack Ma: Make Up Your Mind, Yahoo Jack Ma: Highlights From AsiaD Video Companies like Jingdong, which sells a broad range of goods on its 360buy.com website, are raising funds and racing to expand their share of online business-to-consumer sales in China, a market that is forecast to triple in size over the next two years.

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011

By 2013, business-to-consumer sales will account for 47% of total online sales in China, up from 25% this year, Analysys says.

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011

For China's e-commerce sector, the focus shifts to business-to-consumer sites .

The New Online Battleground Owen Fletcher 2011