Overseas E-Retailers Represent 25% of China’s 500 Top Web Merchants

The 500 largest e-retailers in China ranked by annual web sales grew their combined online sales by 59.6% in 2015 to $198.30 billion from $124.22 billion a year prior, according to Internet Retailer’s newly published 2016 China 500. Now in its third edition, the e-commerce research ranks the 500 leading e-retailers in China based on their annual web sales. Of them, 398 are based in China while 102 hail from overseas; this latter group, which includes 52 U.S.-based web merchants, grew web sales by 124.0% to $21.31 billion in 2015. By comparison, U.S. online retail sales grew roughly 15% per year from 2011 to 2014, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

The fastest-growing U.S.-based e-retailer in China, according to the data in the 2016 China 500, is no. 11-ranked Apple Inc., which increased its web sales in the country by nearly 150% in 2015 to $2.2 billion, up from $897.6 million a year earlier. Computers/electronics as a merchandise category among the 2016 China 500 e-retailers grew by 49.8% in web sales in China last year.

More analysis of the fastest-growing e-retailers by merchant type and merchandising category can be found in the 2016 China 500. The database version provides 139 metrics for each retailer, including web sales, web traffic, conversion rates and other key metrics. A 45-page downloadable PDF executive report provides rankings, summary market data and in-depth analysis of competitive trends in China’s e-commerce market.