E-commerce potential still robust in most Chinese cities

Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hangzhou are the top three e-commerce cities in China, according to a report by AliResearch, a research organization affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, that was released on Wednesday.

The report, termed the Alibaba E-commerce Development Index, looked into the online business development of 294 cities in China. The results were based on internal data from Alibaba's own e-commerce platforms, including Taobao and Tmall.

Cities in China's eastern and coastal regions lead the e-commerce wave, with higher ratios of both online buyers and sellers in their respective population, the data showed.