By staff reporter LU RUCAI

ON Monday morning, Xu Xiaoping, an administrative staff member of a non-state-owned book company, received three deliveries: some books ordered from Joyo Amazon, a briefcase for her husband and a car vacuum cleaner, both from Taobao. It is estimated that the number of Chinese online buyers has surmounted 100 million.

Bargain-hunting Online

This retailer runs an e-store, as well as a conventional shop. China Foto Press

"Everyday, an endless stream of couriers shuttle between e-stores and office buildings," remarks Xu Xiaoping. "Nowadays, people are used to purchasing online. Sometimes, I even place orders for office commodities online, like Inkjet paper and stationery, and I get them for a low price." In terms of the company's purchases, what the boss is really concerned about is the cost, not the source. So, from one perspective, one advantage of online shopping is that it can help to keep the boss happy.

"I'm not shopping online blindly. Before placing an order, I have already decided the brand and style I want in a shopping mall or thumbed through the books I need in a bookstore." Xu Xiaoping regards herself as a rational buyer. The current global financial slump has changed her attitude towards shopping. "Except for food and daily commodities, I seldom go shopping now. The first thought that flashes through my mind when I come across an item I want is to search for a bargain price online." In her experience, products such as small household appliances and books cost 30 percent less in e-shops.

Because the cost of shop rental and staff employment is largely reduced, e-shops can afford to have very competitive prices, which is one of the main reasons they attract so many customers. In 2008, the turnover of online businesses in China reached RMB 130 billion (RMB 6.83=US $1), an increase of 130 percent over the previous year, of which RMB 99.96 billion was generated by the Taobao e-shopping mall.

A huge variety of products ranging from clothing, cosmetics, and digital products to porcelain, woodwork, or indeed any item sold by a brick-and-mortar retailer, can be easily found online. Statistics published by Taobao found that, in 2008, the top 15 commodities sold online were clothes (140 million), cell phones (13.66 million), cosmetics (71.48 million), household items (47.39 million), sports and outdoor equipment (32.22 million), personal computers and accessories (14.48 million), jewelry and accessories (30.24 million), laptops (11.80 million), small home appliances (13.28 million sets), prepaid mobile phone cards (31.30 million), foodstuff (23.46 million), maternal and children's products (31.78 million), cameras and video cameras (6.12 million), vehicle accessories (7.68 million) and book and audio-video products (25.41 million).

Xu Xiaoping has now become a VIP member at both Taobao and Joyo Amazon and enjoys a preferential discount at both websites. In only a short period over the 2009 Spring Festival, she spent more than RMB 3,000 in e-shops purchasing gifts for her family and friends.