Developing Shop Online in China

Developing Shopping Online in China

Developing Shopping Online in China

Thesis: The reasons why shopping online has become an important role in China are the development of technology, the characteristics of shopping and the improvement of people’s lifestyle.

I. The development of new technology

A. The Internet communication skills

B. Computer program systems

1. The feedback-based reputation system

2. The E-payment system

II. The characteristics of shopping online

A. Low-price strategy

B. Diversity of products

III. Some changes in people’s lifestyle

A. Logistics development makes life more convenient

B. People prefer to stay at home because of the Internet

Developing Shopping Online in China Have you had a good experience of shopping online? It might have been common in the US; however, the only approach for Chinese to buy clothes or food was to go to the mall or supermarket ten years ago. Shopping online has become more and more popular in China and has been adopted as a common way to shop. A report, conducted by iResearch, an online market research company, said that the first year’s trade volume of Chinese online market soared 95.8% (as cited in Ding, 2009, ¶2). People in China now prefer to click to the website, select products and make sure to purchase. There are two common types of e-commerce websites in China: B2C and C2C. B2C presents business-to-consumer, and C2C stands for consumer-to-consumer. A few e-commerce websites, such as Dangdang (www.dangdang.com.cn, the largest and most popular B2C website in China), and Taobao (www.taobao.com, the largest C2C website in China, owned by Alibaba.com), “have won great success and established good reputation among online consumers”(Lu, Zhou& Bin, 2007, ¶1). The reasons that shopping online has been developed and improved in such a high speed in China are the development of technology, the characteristics of shopping, and the improvement of people’s lifestyle. The first reason why shopping online has become a significant role in China is the development of the technology, such as network communication skills, e-payment system and the feedback-based reputation system. The Internet has had widespread effects on Chinese since it was first introduced into China in 1995. The Internet, a recent innovation, has become a significant intermediary for not only communication but also commerce. Compared with traditional shopping approaches, the features of the Internet will be considered by buyers, and people will think whether the characteristics of the Internet are preferred when shopping online (Joseph& Dong, 2006, ¶6). The three steps when consumers are shopping in the Internet are to click their mouse, search for what they want to buy, and make sure to purchase, while they even don’t have to talk to sellers. The convenience of the Internet leads shopping online to be the first choice. Moreover, most consumers are concerned with computer program systems related to payment safety or product reputation when shopping online. Such computer program systems have been set up to ensure consumers’ profits. A lot of online shopping websites, such as eBay.com and Taobao.com use feedback-based reputation system, in which the sellers’ and buyers’ reputation and credit will be recorded and marked based on transaction in the past. It means a lot in online C2C market, and the seller will be trusted if s/he has a good reputation, which brings about good sales (Bo, Zhangxi, & Bingjia, 2010, ¶20). Nelson (1970) sorted products into experience and search goods. People want to try the quality of experience products right before they buy the products, while people have to see search products through some information provided online. In other words, the products bought online are search goods. People have to decide whether to buy only after reading a few lines of words (as cited in Bo, Zhangxi, & Bingjia, 2010, ¶22). Without feedback-based reputation system, potential consumers would not have accepted the new approach of shopping. Also, the former comments and scores from buyers and the scores which buyers get from sellers, depending on whether the buyers pay in time or not make feedback-based reputation system become a special credit system for not only vendors but also consumers. Another important system researched and developed for shopping online is payment system which protects consumers’ money from being taken away by sellers without receiving products or not being satisfied with the products. “Alipayment”, which belongs to Taobao.com, is the typical payment system known among online buyers. Even though there are still some shortcomings needed to be improved in these systems, technology makes it possible and promotes the development of shopping online in China. Secondly, the characteristics of shopping online are considered to be another important reason that promotes the development of shopping online in China. Low-price strategy, diversity of products and convenience of shopping style are three of the most obvious features of shopping online, which attracts more and more people in China involved in shopping online, and not only young people but also old people are interested in online shopping. Price and type are two of the most significant features of product, which influence buyers’ choice when they are shopping online (Bo, Zhangxi, & Bingjia, 2010, ¶21). Because sellers can reduce operation and storage cost, products online are usually less expensive than products bought in a traditional way. Lower price has been one of the most important factors, which makes shopping online the best choice in China. There are 10,000 shops which were opened everyday in 2008, while more than 140 million Chinese became loyal customers of shops online (Lan, 2009, ¶4). Nevertheless, product price is sometimes connected with cheating and fraud, and buyers can’t recognize whether or not the sellers online are cheating on product price. That will be an important issue in online shopping (Bo, Zhangxi, & Bingjia, 2010, ¶21). Had sellers online had the same price as traditional sellers or higher price, the online market would not have bloomed. Another characteristics of shopping online, diversity of products, promotes the development of shopping online. Imagine that there are two choices for consumers when shopping: buying goods in different shops or buying all stuff in one big shop. Obviously, people prefer to shop in one place and purchase all the stuff they list. Like shopping in a big shopping mall, people buy all they need online on one website without driving out or walking a long distance, crowding in the crowd and sweating in different shops. All consumers need is to search what they want, and compare the prices and comments. Liu claims, “Best selling online items include clothing, cosmetics, home furnishing, outdoor sports equipment, personal computer, jewelry, laptops and small home appliance”(Liu, 2009, ¶27). The characteristics of shopping online, low-price strategy, diversity of products and convenience of shopping style, attract more and more people and lead to the promotion of shopping online. Thirdly, the development of people’s lifestyle contributes to the emergence and development of shopping online in China. With the rapid growth of Chinese economy, not only has per capita income improved significantly, but also people are getting accustomed to the faster pace of life. That involved in the development of shopping online as an important factor. Due to the faster pace of life, a kind of new industry—express delivery industry—has arisen. The convenience of shopping online is considered to be a significant reason for consumers. Because of the development of express delivery industry, which belongs to modern logistics, the buyers don’t have to go out to take stuff back home, and just sit in front of the monitor to wait for delivering. Express delivery industry is developing in a rapid pace because of the boom of online shopping. In China, people now are interested in sitting in front of a computer, clicking the mouse, and shopping online (Liu, 2012, ¶1). The development of express delivery industry has been outstanding in recent years, which has been proven by a year-on-year increase of 20% from 2009. There are 542,000 people working for express delivery industry, and express delivery companies have been set up everywhere around China. Because of the appearance of online shopping, the express delivery industry developed better and faster (Liu, 2011, ¶3, 4, 5, 6). At the same time, express delivery industry promotes the development of shopping online. The promotion of express delivery industry makes more and more people trust in shopping online. What consumers need to do after making sure to purchase is to wait for stuff being delivered in a few days. Such convenience really helps people who suffer from the faster pace of life: they don’t have to go out to shop, and just stay at home to get everything they want. Another change in people’s lifestyle is that people prefer to stay at home rather than go out for fun. Because of the Internet, online entertainment has become the most popular way to spend time. Not only chatting online or playing online games but also shopping online has been a significant role in people’s daily life. Evidences are that not only can people buy concrete goods online, but also a lot of abstract goods, such as game cards and mobile phone recharge cards, can be found in online shops. The changes of people’s lifestyle and the emergence and development of express delivery industry make contribution to the development of shopping online in China, which makes life more convenient. In conclusion, the development of technology, the characteristics of shopping and the improvement of people’s lifestyle are three main reasons why shopping online has become an important role in China. Due to the developing of shopping online, a new approach of shopping has appeared which makes shopping more convenient for consumers; moreover, it promotes the development of tertiary industry and economic development in China. Shopping online offers many jobs in China; for example, Taobao.com, the biggest shopping online website, provided 570,000 jobs in 2008. Moreover, shopping online offers much more chances for young persons between 23 and 32 years old to run their online shops with government’s support (Lan, 2009, ¶16, 17, 18). Because of the development of Chinese shopping online, many overseas shopping websites have noticed the future of this market flourish. Alipay, third party payment tool, has enrolled 300 overseas online shops to get access to Chinese online shopping market (Lan, 2009, ¶9). In other words, the local online shoppers will face more opportunities in the future.
References
Bo, X., Zhangxi, L., & Bingjia, S. (2010). Factors affecting consumer behaviors in online buy-it-now auctions. Internet Research, 20(5), 509-526. doi:10.1108/10662241011084086
Ding, W. (2009). Cheaper prices or better services?. Beijing Review, 52(37), 28-29.
Lan, X. (2009). Online shopping spree (cover story). Beijing Review, 52(37), 26-27.
Liu, X. (2009). You want it, the web has it. Beijing Review, 52(37), 30-31.
Liu, X. (2011). Express reform for speedy deliveries. Beijing Review, 54(30), 36-37.
Liu, X. (2012). Delivering satisfaction. Beijing Review, 55(2), 34-35.
Lu, Y., Zhou, T., & Bin, W. (2007). A comparison of prices in electronic markets and traditional markets of China. Chinese Economy, 40(5), 67-83. doi:10.2753/CES1097-1475400504
Joseph, R., & Dong, S. (2006). E-commerce adoption among Chinese consumers: an exploratory study. Journal Of International Consumer Marketing, 18(3), 33-55. doi:10.1300/J046v18n03-03

References: Bo, X., Zhangxi, L., & Bingjia, S. (2010). Factors affecting consumer behaviors in online buy-it-now auctions. Internet Research, 20(5), 509-526. doi:10.1108/10662241011084086 Ding, W. (2009). Cheaper prices or better services?. Beijing Review, 52(37), 28-29. Lan, X. (2009). Online shopping spree (cover story). Beijing Review, 52(37), 26-27. Liu, X. (2009). You want it, the web has it. Beijing Review, 52(37), 30-31. Liu, X. (2011). Express reform for speedy deliveries. Beijing Review, 54(30), 36-37. Liu, X. (2012). Delivering satisfaction. Beijing Review, 55(2), 34-35. Lu, Y., Zhou, T., & Bin, W. (2007). A comparison of prices in electronic markets and traditional markets of China. Chinese Economy, 40(5), 67-83. doi:10.2753/CES1097-1475400504 Joseph, R., & Dong, S. (2006). E-commerce adoption among Chinese consumers: an exploratory study. Journal Of International Consumer Marketing, 18(3), 33-55. doi:10.1300/J046v18n03-03