US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
China / Now and Then

This Day, That Year: Consumption

(China Daily) Updated: 2016-08-01 15:41

This Day, That Year: Consumption

Item from Aug 1, 1993, in China Daily: Gao Xing and her classmates from the Beijing No 1 School for Deaf-Mutes enjoy drinks at the invitation of McDonald's in downtown Beijing. The fast-food outlet has been offering gifts, from coupons to bicycles, as a sales gimmick.

Times have changed in China and so has shopping. ...

Today, new services, such as door-to-door sales, TV shopping and radio shopping are springing up around the country.

This Day, That Year: Consumption

Customers shop at a cross-border O2O experience center in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on May 15, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

The retail industry is undergoing a major transformation. Online business is no longer limited to ordering goods and getting them delivered at homes or offices. It has expanded rapidly to the service sector-your personal chef and hairdresser are just a click away.

Last year, the value of the country's e-commerce transactions reached 16.4 trillion yuan ($2.5 trillion). The value is expected to increase to 43.8 trillion yuan by 2020, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

E-commerce juggernaut JD.com debuted in the latest Fortune Global 500 list, reflecting China's fast-growing online business.

While e-commerce is reshaping China's retail landscape with shrinking retail sales at physical stores, large retailers are rethinking their costly real-estate assets and merchandising formats.

China's largest home appliances retailer, Suning, is just one example-the company has diversified into e-commerce, real estate, culture, finance and investments.

 

Highlights
Hot Topics

...