China online shopping holiday
Tmall.com accounted for 45.1 percent of business-to-consumer online sales in China in the three months ending in September, according to Analysys International, a research firm in Beijing. 360buy was in second place with 17.4 percent. Boston Consulting Group said more products were sold through Taobao in 2010 _ about 48,000 per minute _ than at China's top five bricks-and-mortar retailers combined.
“Alibaba has so many assets that they can integrate that it's hard to compete with them,'' said Mark Natkin, managing director of Marbridge Consulting, a technology consulting firm in Beijing.
Other rivals include clothing retailer Vancl.com, bookseller Dangdang.com, Amazon.com Inc.'s joint venture with a Chinese partner, and traditional retailers such as consumer electronics chain Suning Ltd. that have expanded online. Walmart Stores Inc., which operates 340 outlets in China, boosted its online presence last month by expanding its stake in online retailer Yihaodian to a controlling 51 percent.
In addition to its e-commerce platform used by other merchants, 360buy also is China's biggest online retailer, selling consumer electronics and other goods directly to customers.
The source of Singles Day's rise as China's online shopping day is a matter of debate by Chinese commentators and industry analysts.
Some cite demographics and timing: University graduates who adopted the holiday earn more and shop
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