Online shopping gains popularity

Online shopping in China hit US$8.2 billion last year, representing a 90% increase from a year earlier, AFP reported. The figure was provided by the China Internet Research Center and Taobao.com, the country’s largest auction site. Some 55 million of the country’s 210 million internet users shopped online last year compared to 43.1 million shoppers in 2006. Online sales now account for less than 1% of total retail sales in China. According to the report, online sales would make up 5-8% of total retail sales by 2012.