Expats get into swing of e-commerce frenzy

Expats living in China are not letting the country's e-commerce boom pass them by, with an increasing number catching the online shopping fever.

For these expats the Internet is not only the best way to keep in touch with family and friends back home, but is also an important shopping tool.

The Chinese e-commerce market gives locals and expats access to the world's largest online shopping opportunities, with millions of products and services available with just a few clicks.

Since 2013 China has been the world's largest e-commerce market, with online spending of $307 billion that year, the market research firm Forrester Research Inc says. It is not only the volume of purchases that is growing, but the variety of goods on offer as well.

"I was amazed by how much you can find online here," says Emiliano Vega, a Spanish engineer working in Tianjin. "You can buy anything you want, and it is very convenient."

Chinese e-commerce websites also outperform many overseas online shops in the payment methods they offer, the speed of delivery and offering live chats with vendors to discuss products and their prices.

"Internet shopping is much more convenient here than in Germany," says a German journalist in Beijing, who did not want to be named. "Delivery is much faster, and things often arrive the same day. It is also very useful that I can just pay the money to the delivery person. A big drawback is that refund policies are not very transparent."

Kim Tae-uk, a South Korean studying in Beijing, says: "I don't think there is a big difference between the Korean e-commerce system and the Chinese one, but the Chinese payment method is a little more convenient."

Although many foreigners are opting to buy goods online, there are those who say buying certain products in physical shops is better.

"I love buying electronic devices online, but sometimes they turn out to be fake," Kim says. "It does not really bother me because the price is low and the quality is not bad. But I would definitely not buy food from a website because it might not meet safety standards."

Expats interviewed for this story cited food, furniture and cosmetics as the kinds of things they would be less likely to buy online, mainly because of the difficulty in verifying product quality. Clothes and electronics were the most likely to be bought online because of the range of goods available and the competitive prices.

But using Chinese online shopping websites such as JD.com and Tmall.com can be daunting for anyone who does not have a good grasp of Chinese.

"I have not given it a try yet because I find it a little bit complicated," says Shenny Sanafi, an Indonesian studying at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. "But my university organizes a seminar every semester to teach us how to buy online. I might give it a go after attending the class."

Federico Brembati, an Italian teacher in Beijing, says: "My Chinese friends showed me how to use the most popular websites. If it was not for them I don't think I would have ventured into using them."

emmagonzalez@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/06/2015 page19)