Too hot to handle

Many companies are eyeing a piece of the e-commerce pie in China, but many are getting their hands burnt in the process as well

It is no secret that China is the world's largest e-commerce market, thanks to the staggering amounts of money Chinese consumers have been spending online. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, online retail transcations in the country hit 3.877 trillion yuan ($589.61 billion) in 2015, a 33.3 percent increase from a year earlier.

But while China may be the global leader in e-commerce, online sales actually only contribute to about 11 percent of the total retail sales in the country, based on findings by global information company Nielsen.