Online retailers expand into lower-tier markets

Move marks next wave of consumption demand as shoppers in smaller cities seek high-quality and imported products

China's next big wave of consumption is likely to occur in the lower-tier cities, as consumers living there put more emphasis on high-quality and imported products, along with improvements in living standards and rising disposable incomes.

Major Chinese online retailers are accelerating efforts to expand their presence into the country's lower-tier markets to further unleash consumption potential, partly owing to the flattened growth of online shopping in first-and second-tier cities, said industry insiders.