1.
e-Commerce: China vs. the US
Whitepaper 2017
e-Commerce & Retail
1. e-Commerce in China will grow by 17.4% on
average each year; growth in the US will be
significantly smaller
2. China will dominate the global online fashion
market with a revenue of more than US$285bn in
2021
3. Amazon is #1 in Europe and in the US with a
revenue of US$136 billion in 2016
4. US tech giant Amazon remains ahead of its
Chinese competitor Alibaba in 2016
5. Despite being #1 in the US & Europe, Amazon has
not yet cracked the Chinese market
Key Takeaways
This whitepaper provides an insight into the e-Commerce
market and its performance in China and the US, and also
includes a comparison of Amazon and Alibaba.

2.
e-Commerce in China will grow by 17.4% on
average each year
2
Growth
Total e-Commerce revenue by region in billion US$
1: Rest of World; region only includes countries listed in the Digital Market Outlook
Source: Statista Digital Market Outlook 2016
RoW1
2021
353.3
2016
199.3
+12.1% p.a.
China
2016 2021
839.5
376.2
+17.4% p.a.
United States
485.3
322.2
2016 2021
+8.5% p.a.
Europe
2016 2021
430.0
281.5
+8.8% p.a.

3.
China will dominate global online fashion
with a revenue of US$285bn in 2021
3
Industry Insights
Projected online revenue from fashion in billion US$
Source: Statista Digital Market Outlook 2016
150.0
125.8
86.8
63.3
166.5
159.0
96.7
69.8
130.8
90.3
221.2
285.3
140.5
96.4
236.9
260.5
83.9
119.2
203.1
228.0
184.5
76.8
107.7
193.9
USEuropeChina
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

4.
Amazon is #1 in Europe and in the US with a
revenue of US$136 billion in 2016
4
Industry Insights
Amazon revenue development from foundation to 2016 in million US$
Source: Company information
1 61014816
2016
135,987
2015
107,006
2014
88,988
2013
74,452
2012
61,093
2011
48,077
2010
34,204
2009
24,509
2008
19,166
2007
14,835
2006
10,711
2005
8,490
2004
6,921
2003
5,264
2002
3,933
2001
3,122
2000
2,762
1999
1,640
1998199719961995
Mission statement:
‘Earth’s biggest book store’
Vision statement:
‘Our vision is to be earth's most
customer centric company […]’

5.
Year founded 1994 1999
Number of employees 341,400 46,228
Revenue (2016): US$136 billion US$15.7 billion
EBITDA (2016) US$12.5 billion US$8.1 billion
CAGR2 (2012-2016) 22.15% 48.63%
Profit margin 1.74% 70.5%
R&D expenditure US$12.59 billion US$0.34 billion
GMV US$251.0 billion3 US$484.6 billion
Market capitalization (Jun 2016) US$477.8 billion US$351.1 billion
US tech giant Amazon remains ahead of its
Chinese competitor Alibaba in 2016
Amazon vs. Alibaba1
1: Data for Alibaba financial year converted to US$ at the OANDA year-end exchange rate; 2: CAGR = Compound annual growth rate; 3: Statista estimate
Source: Company information 5

6.
Despite being #1 in the US & Europe, Ama-
zon has not yet cracked the Chinese market
6
Industry Insights
Market share of e-Commerce websites in China in 2016 (in percent of B2C sales)
Source: iResearch China, U.S. Department of Commerce, Statista Digital Market Outlook
6.7%Others
56.6%Tmall.com
JD.com 24.7%
Suning.com 4.3%
Vip.com 3.5%
Gome.com.cn 1.2%
Yhd.com 1.1%
Amazon.cn 0.8%
Dandang.com 0.7%
Jumei.com 0.5%
B2C e-Commerce sales in 2016
US$376 billion US$322 billion

7.
About the Digital Market Outlook
7
This paper provides insights on eCommerce: China vs. the US.
Further information and data on e-Commerce can be found via
Statista‘s Digital Market Outlook.
The Digital Market Outlook provides direct access to revenue, user
count, and penetration forecasts as well as cross-country
comparisons and makes them available to download.
It includes data on 9 digital markets, including Digital Media, Digital
Advertising, e-Commerce, eServices, Smart Home, FinTech, eHealth,
Connected Car as well as eTravel, and covers 50 countries
worldwide.
The e-Commerce market includes fashion, electronics & media,
food & personal care, furniture & appliances as well as toys, hobby
& DIY.
The Digital Market Outlook is exclusively available on statista.com
and is included in the Statista Corporate Account and Statista
Enterprise Account.
9 markets, 34 segments, 50 countries
Further data Contact
Felix Wegener
Analyst
felix.wegener@statista.com
Felix Wegener graduated in Geography and Economics.
He gained comprehensive knowledge of digital technologies and
their disruptive character from numerous consulting and business
transformation projects in several industries.
More at Statista.com

8.
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Disclaimer
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