China's E-commerce Market Landscape
China’s e-commerce market has experienced surprising speed in the last decades thanks to the well-developed logistics system. By 2023, China will contribute to 63% of the global online shopping market with an estimated value of over 2 trillion USD. Well-functioned electronic payment operations and a powerful mobile terminal segment have also made this market cover a wider range of clients.
Due to the customers’ preferences, Chinese e-commerce platforms are still the key players in the online shopping field. According to a survey in 2023, only one foreign e-commerce player, Amazon, was ranked in the Top 15 e-commerce platforms in China. Consequently, using local platforms remains the most effective way to reach Chinese online shoppers for marketing and branding.
Together with Hongda, let’s see how to get your online shopping platform account registered with complete e-commerce solutions to expand your market in China.
Choose the Right E-commerce Platform for Your Choice
Tmall Store Registration
Tmall is the largest B2C platform in China, with over 500 million registered customers and over 50000 merchants, taking up over 50% of China’s B2C e-commerce business. Tmall is the great choice for brands who are looking to open their official shops, especially when you have a luxury brand or high-value products. For international companies, Tmall can be a useful e-commerce platform to help increase their sales as well as to promote their brand. Luxury brands not only have access to Tmall and Tmall Global but also to Tmall Luxury Pavilion, which is an “app within an app” that enables top-selected clients to get access to the most premium and luxury brands with dedicated flagship stores.
However, running a Tmall shop can be more expensive than other platforms, including:
- Deposit of a Tmall Flagship store costs between 50,000 RMB and 100,000 RMB
In terms of technical services, you will have to pay between 30,000 RMB and 60,000 RMB per year
Sales commission for Tmall can represent 0.5% to 10% of sales (although most of the time it will be around 2% and 5%)
JD Store Registration
Jing Dong is the largest self-operated e-commerce enterprise in China. Compared with other e-commerce platforms, you can find about everything on JD, with a strong focus on electronic devices. What is setting it apart from Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall is its fulfillment service. JD has the most advanced fulfillment infrastructure among all Chinese e-commerce companies, allowing same-day delivery. If your company focuses on the trading of electronic products, JD can be the best choice for you because of its huge client population who are consistently interested in digital devices.
The fees of opening a JD shore may include:
- Shop Deposit: 30000 RMB, 50000 RMB, or 100000 RMB depending on the categories of products
Technical fees: ranging from 500 to 1000 RMB per month
Sales commission: 2% to 8% of your sales amount
Xiaohongshu Store Registration
Xiaohongshu, or the Little Red Book, has at least 200 million active users. Both in the desktop and mobile terminals, the Xiaohongshu community information is presented in a Pinterest-style layout, which makes the contents distribute to more related clients. Combing with video and live broadcast functions, users can also share product reviews and text introductions of travel destinations, during which users grow interested in a product or lead to purchase.
The fees of opening a Xiaohongshu shore may include:
- Shop Deposit: 20000 RMB for domestic companies or 3500 USD for international and overseas companies
- Technical fees: charged at 5% for any sales amount exceeding 10,000 RMB
Register Online Payment Platform Account
When running online shops in China, an online payment account is something you must have to receive money from your clients. Let’s see which account is the best choice for you!
Alipay Account Registration
Today, Alipay is the largest independent third-party payment platform in mainland China. It is one of the mainstream payment methods in mainland China. Most people in mainland China have replaced Alipay with cash or credit cards. Alipay has 1.2 billion global users, making it the world's second largest mobile payment service provider in the world. In addition, according to statistics in the first quarter of 2020, Alipay occupies 55.40% of the third-party payment market in mainland China and shows a continuous growth trend.
What Hongda can help you (about 5-7 working days):
- Guidance to prepare all the required materials;
- Alipay account registration;
- Corporate information registration and bank account verification;
WeChat Pay Account Registration
WeChat Pay is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by WeChat based in China that allows users to make mobile payments and online transactions. Users who have provided their bank account information can utilize the app for various financial transactions, such as paying bills, making purchases, transferring money to other users, and even conducting in-store payments if the stores support WeChat payments. These services are offered by verified third-party entities called "official accounts," which create mini-programs or "apps within the app" to provide specific functionalities. Users can link their Chinese bank accounts to enable seamless transactions through the Visa, MasterCard, and JCB.
What Hongda can help you (about 5-7 working days):
- Guidance to prepare all the required materials;
- WeChat Pay account registration;
- Corporate information registration and bank account verification;
Choose Method for Marketing and Branding
WeChat has over 1.2 billion active users, making it the largest Chinese instant messaging application. Together with its social media and mini-program functions, it is also the most popular social media platform in China.
- All-in-one platform with active user engagement
- Embedded leading CRM tools with real-time connection with clients
Douyin
A rapid-growing short video platform with over 600 million daily active users. It has become a popular choice, especially within the younger population, who can act as content creators and viewers at the same time, leading to hot trends in China.
- Young client pool with higher level of consumption ability
- Engaging short video contents
Xiaohongshu
Xiaohongshu is a user-generated content platform that focuses on word-of-mouth advertising. This Chinese version of Pinterest and Instagram is a safety net for users to share and read authentic product reviews, especially for international luxury cosmetics. The in-app e-commerce platform RED Store allows users to purchase credible products, given the prevailing counterfeit market trend in China.
- A trustworthy platform leads to satisfying sales
- Seamless shopping experience on Xiaohongshu
Weibo is the second-largest social media platform in China, with more than 550 million monthly active users. Weibo gives you a wide choice of advertising forms, including organic content marketing like short videos, live streams, and microblogging. You can also invest in paid advertising on Weibo.
- Facilitate omnichannel user experience
- Search Engine advertising is available
