Rise of e-commerce hits Canton Fair

The value of deals signed at the 115th session of the Canton Fair fell by 13% from a year ago, Financial Times reported, with buyers and fair data pointing to e-commerce as a major contributor to the decline. Companies signed US$31 billion in deals at the trade show, held in Guangzhou twice a year since 1957, marking a decline in buyers from 202,766 a year ago to 188,119 this spring. During the fair, spokesman Liu Jianjun said trade shows were facing “huge challenges” from e-commerce. Fewer customers are coming since they can more easily find information online, from Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group, as well as Amazon.com (AMZN:NASDAQ) and eBay (EBAY:NASDAQ).