However, Girn reveals that the internet penetration rate in Asia is very low, when compared with Australia, but the former is growing more rapidly than the rest of the world. India, which has the third largest online user base globally after China and the US, has an internet penetration rate of just 17.4 per cent.
According to eMarketer research, cited by the source, consumers in the Asia-Pacific region will spend more money online than the US for the first time ever in 2014. And for every USD 10 spent, 6 will come from China.
According to official figures from the China Internet Network information Center, China has 618 million internet users as of December 2013. In other words, China has an online population 33 times that of Australia with only a 45.8% penetration rate. Half of them shops online.
Ben Simpfendorfer, a Hong Kong-based investment banker at strategy consultancy firm Silk Road Associates states that, although a range of Australian brands are sold on Chinas Tmall, sales volumes are marginal.
A partnership between China’s ecommerce company Alibaba and Australia Post has been set in place in order to simplify cross-border steps between the two countries. Through the agreement, businesses no longer have to register as Chinese business entities or employ local staff in the country. Australian businesses now have the option of piggy-backing off Australia Post and shipping their products from Australia.
Check out our Cross-border Ecommerce Research section here for more info on specific ecommerce facts & figures, preferred payment methods, risk and fraud, as well as ecommerce legislation & regulation in Australia.
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