China's online shopping market is expected to surge over the next several years and could reach 2 trillion renminbi, or $315bn, by 2015, according to research by Boston Consulting Group.
The study found that Chinese shoppers are the most likely of the world's online consumers to check for product recommendations on social networking sites, and that online retail giant Taobao is the dominant e-commerce player in China. Last year the site, which has more than 800 million online products, accounted for 79 percent of China's online transaction value, selling more than the country's top five physical retailers combined.
BCG also said that one of the biggest challenges posed by e-commerce growth in China is its delivery infrastructure: 45 percent of surveyed shoppers said they worried their purchases would be switched for fakes during delivery.
