China's online sales rank 2nd in world

China's online sales have amounted to US$126 billion, ranking second in the world, next only to the U.S., a market report said yesterday.

According to the White Paper of E-Commerce in China released by Jones Lang LaSalle, by the end of 2012, China had 564 million Internet users, ranking No.1 in the world and resulting in a strong growth of online sales.

Meanwhile, China's online retail market still shows great potential. Compared with the developed countries, with 70 percent to 80 percent of residents using the Internet, China only has 40 percent of its population with access to the Internet, only two fifths of who have shopped online before.

Since there are no leading brands in China's retail market, e-commerce will affect real shops more deeply in China than in the developed countries. Chinese malls should attract customers by opening up more recreational and catering businesses, organizing more sales campaigns and offering up services and conveniences such as free Wifi, ample parking space and well-located transportation facilities, the white paper suggested.

It is estimated that China's online sales will become the world's largest and surpass the amount of US$1 trillion in 2020.