Although China's international and domestic trade has declined because of the global economic slowdown, online business seems to be showing no impact at all.

According to a report by domestic research firm Analysys International, the trade volume of China's online shopping market grew 137.2 percent to 122 billion yuan (US$17.84 billion) last year, the highest growth rate since 2006.

The Beijing-based firm said the growth rate shows Chinese Internet users' increased spending on online shopping as well as traditional dealers' embrace of the Internet. It said ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) of China's C2C market increased from 520 yuan in 2007 to 760 yuan last year.

China had 298 million Internet users by last year, and nearly 25 percent are online shoppers, according to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). In comparison, 71 percent of Internet users in the United States shop online.

That market potential has attracted many traditional dealers from Adidas to Dell to open online shops on websites such as Taobao.com.

Analysys International said goods delivery was significantly disrupted last year during the Sichuan earthquake and the Beijing Olympic Games. But that will change this year as China announced its 4-trillion-yuan economic stimulus plan, which is expected to boost construction on infrastructure such as roads and railways.

Transaction volume of China's C2C shopping market hit 31.17 billion yuan in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 144 percent year-on-year, and 22 percent from the third quarter, according to Analysys International.

The number of goods listed online reached 181.7 million in the fourth quarter, 14 percent higher than the previous quarter.

Youa.com, launched two months ago by Chinese search engine Baidu.com, has already commanded a 3.8 percent market share in the number of listed goods online, the research firm said.

(chinadaily.com.cn March 11, 2009)