Online purchases get a 'smart' touch

The proliferation of smartphones and fast adaptation of 4G technologies have enhanced mobile e-commerce experiences for Chinese consumers and opened new growth vistas for mobile Internet and payment companies.

According to data gleaned from the 2014 China Mobile Internet Report, prepared by iResearch, an industry consultancy, China had a mobile Internet population of over 500 million in 2013, with an Internet penetration rate of over 81 percent. Mobile marketing revenue surged to 15.52 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) last year, a year-on-year increase of 105 percent.

Mobile shopping accounted for 38.9 percent of the mobile Internet revenue in 2013, and its share is expected to reach 46.3 percent by 2017.