We knew that e-commerce had a big year in 2020, but just how big is evidenced by China becoming the world’s first country to generate more than 50% of its retail sales from e-commerce. That’s according to a Chain Store Age article by Marianne Wilson.
China is not just the world leader in e-commerce. They are the leader by a lot. Here is how the next three countries ranked*:
China 52%
South Korea 28.9%
The United Kingdom 28.3%
The United States 15%
*eMarketer Insider Intelligence report
According to Chain Store Age, one of the keys to China’s robust e-commerce numbers is sales driven through social networks, aptly called social commerce. Those who utlize social commerce link a shopping cart directly to products mentioned or shown in social network conversations and ads.
Social commerce in China amounted to $363 billion. Social commerce in the U.S., however, only came to 10% of that amount.
Social commerce is, therefore, a big potential growth area in the U.S. According to Investopedia, these are some of the tactics used by those who market through social networks:
- Inviting users to vote on product style or choices
- Offering personalized buyer options
- Applying large and striking graphics to attract viewer clicks
- Using videos to show the product in use and from multiple angles
- Encouraging user-submitted photos, commentary, and feedback
- Using celebrity endorsements of the product line
- Linking directly to the checkout or shopping cart
- Offering promotions or giveaways to users who share the product on their feeds
China’s success with e-commerce gives us a lot about which to think. For example, imagine what will happen to bricks and mortar if the U.S. ever passes the 50% e-commerce mark.
