A “Golden Market,” highly desired by global merchants
In recent years it has become trendy for residents in mainland China to travel abroad, their average spending usually topping world rankings. The latest statistics are courtesy of the Tax Free World Organization (TFWA) and AC Nielson. They suggest that in 2006 China topped all other countries with the total number of outbound trips at 34 million, spending 24.32 billion dollars overseas, with average shopping expenses 1,081 Euros, the most in the world.
Meanwhile, with the development of online shopping, the overseas online shopping demand of Chinese domestic netizens has expanded extensively. Data from the Taobao global procurement channel (a primary agent of overseas shops) showed that average trading volume was 2.3 million in the first quarter of 2007 and 120 million in the fourth quarter, up 400% within a period of just one year.
In 2008, China reported 210 million netizens, a figure expected to rise by 560 million in the next five years. An official survey predicted that in 2008 China's overall market size for individual online shopping is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan and could be as large as 280 billion in 2010 with a compound annual growth rate of over 60%. China, because of its strong purchasing power and potential is becoming a key market contended for by all global merchants.