英語聽力文摘 中國電子商務(wù)行業(yè)的巨大機會

China's ecommerce industry presents a big opportunity with over 500 million internet users in the country.

An annual report on Chinese consumers released by consulting group McKinsey and Co claims over half of all households in China will prefer to shop online by 2020.

The most recent example of this growth was this month's Singles Day holiday which saw retail website Taobao achieve sales of around three billion US dollars in twenty-four hours.

Despite the successes, the surge is revealing signs of weakness in China's distribution chains.

 

Abhijan Barua has more.

"China today is the second largest market in the world for ecommerce. In year 2015, it's redicted that the total ecommerce in the world will be $1.4trn, 380bn of which will come from China and only $260bn will come from the US. And so we are talking about an explosion of ecommerce in China as well as an explosion across retail."

President and CEO of the Tompkins International consulting firm, Jim Tompkins, outlines the role of China in the global e-commerce market.

McKinsey & Co. puts the contribution from China down to a new mainstream customer in China which is wealthier, younger and more reliant on the internet.

The recent Singles Day holiday is testament to this growing customer presence.

Online retailer Taobao saw a nearly three hundred percent increase in sales during the holiday compared to 2011.

And competitor Suning reported a twenty-fold increase in sales for its three days promotion.

As these firms celebrate their record-breaking trading performances, delivery companies are reflecting on their strained service capabilities.

The Zhejiang Internet Supply Chain Service Provider Company provides sorting and delivery services for more than 40 businesses on Taobao.

The company's vice general manager, Luo Gui, describes the surge in orders during the Singles Day holiday period.

"Normally we have thousands of orders everyday, but on Single's Day, we had more than 250 thousand orders. And by the end of the next day, we had over 300 thousand orders in total."

Even with extra-staff taken from local universities and colleges, employees felt overworked.