10-Apr-18, World Economic Forum
China's digital economy has experienced massive growth over the last decade. About 10 years ago China accounted for less than one percent of the global e-commerce market; today its share is 42%. In comparison, the United States' share of the market is 24%, down from 35% in 2005.
Image: McKinsey Global Institute
Such is China's dominance in e-commerce, it now handles more transactions per year than France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States combined.
One explanation for China's dominance is the explosion in use of mobile payments, which soared from 25% of mobile Internet users in 2013 to 68% in 2016. In total, 731 mn of China's 1.4 bn citizens use the Internet.