Some Chinese shoppers buy products on oversea online retailers, which will be delivered directly to their Chinese address. These group of users are commonly known as Haitao in China.
According to China E-Commerce Research Center, China online shoppers’ oversea purchase reached RMB74.4 billion (US$12.5 billion) in 2013 from RMB12 billion in 2010, and it’s estimated to reach RMB 140 billion (US$22.68 billion) this year.
Popular Products
There are eight categories of consumers products that are very popular among oversea online buyers:
- Cosmetic and skin care products
- Makeup products
- Women clothing
- Perfume
- Toys
- Health supplement products
- Milk powder & food supplement
- Miscellaneous products for women
Popular Shopping Locations
Chinese online buyers’s most oversea purchase last year was from the U.S., followed by these locations:
- Hong Kong
- Malaysia
- Netherlands
- South Korea
- Denmark
- Japan
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
- Sweden
What are Chinese Buying from Oversea E-tailers?
50% of the purchased products from United States are milk powders, men and women’s clothing, and health supplement products.
Premium clothing and luxury products are much more popular oversea online purchase this year and the total transactions have been increased by over 20 times. In addition, outdoor products purchase has seen growth by over 50%.
The growth will likely continue as the Chinese government promotes cross-border e-commerce.
Source: Taobao
