Who Will Win the E-Commerce Battle?

In the last couple years, tons of studies have been conducted on the Chinese netizen’s buying behavior. Nearly all major retailers are eager to swoop in and win their favor, especially with research showing growth in China’s online retail market from USD 94.6 billion this year to USD 159.4 billion by 2015. So far we have fast-fashion chain stores as well as luxury brands scrambling to find the most effective way to enter the market. Is it through the Internet, or should they open a brick-and-mortar store first? Who will win the e-commerce battle?

Net-a-Porter (which has offered shipping to China for some time, but at a price) made its intentions for Chinese online consumers clear when it bought up Shouke.com just last month. This members’ only site was co-founded by Adrienne Ma, daughter of the founder of Joyce Group (which just opened its first Beijing shop last year). First things first: Net-a-Porter has relaunched Shouke.com as TheOutnet.cn, featuring over one hundred international brands at discounts of up to 80 percent.

Of course, American luxury department store Neiman Marcus won’t take this sitting down. Their plans for China have been floating around the Internet for some time; now they have proven true to their word with a USD 28 million investment in e-commerce in China. Expect a new e-commerce site tailored specifically for the Chinese consumer by the end of this year. Unlike TheOutnet.cn, Neiman Marcus won’t be offering tantalizing discounts – it aims to position itself as a “true” luxury retailer.

Regardless of their target markets, both TheOutnet.cn and Neiman Marcus will steal the spotlight from Taobao's T-Mall, 360Top and TheCorner.cn (the YOOX Group's multi-brand e-shop which established itself well ahead of the pack last year). You know what that means, right? More competitive prices for us consumers.

Sources: RedLuxury.com, JingDaily.com