In China, Online Shopping Is Now More Popular Than Social Networking [CHART]

Online shopping is one of the fastest-growing Web activities in China, with nearly half of Internet users in the country now shopping online.

Roughly 618 million people in China used the Internet last year (approximately 46% of the total population), according to data from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) compiled by BI Intelligence. Of those Internet users, 48.9%, or 302 million, shopped online.

Approximately 60 million people became first-time online shoppers in China last year. That represents 25% growth over the previous year. The only Web activities that grew faster in popularity were travel booking and group buying, but far fewer people conduct those activities.

It's also interesting to note that online shopping is now more popular in China than blogging, social networking, and even email.

Consumers in China have flocked to e-commerce companies like Alibaba that offer massive inventories and phenomenally low prices. And more recently, BI Intelligence finds that Internet security in the country has also substantially improved, instilling more confidence in consumers when sharing their credit card information online.

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