China’s central bank outlined a number of risks and recommendations for the country’s booming e-commerce and delivery sectors in its quarterly monetary policy implementation report, Caixin reports, citing a saturated market and rising costs as potential headwinds.
China’s online retail sales grew by 30.1% to Rmb 4.08 trillion ($595.8 billion) during the first half of the year, outstripping sales growth for retail overall, according to the People’s Bank.
At the close of last year, China housed around 533 million online shoppers, up 14.3% from the previous year. As a proportion of total retail sales, e-commerce jumped from 10.6% in 2014 to 17.4% in 2017. The sector currently employs 42.5 million people either directly or indirectly, the report found.
Faced with a combination of challenges, including rising competition, squeezed margins and increasing costs, the bank encouraged e-commerce firms to work closely with financial institutions to develop new and specific financial products. The report also mentioned improvements to the credit system in the online retail sector and a possible credit tracking system.