The Stats are in. Social networking and e-commerce among top internet trends in China.

Belinda Gallaugher
Director, Communications

On the eve of the official launch of Liuxue Town and liuxuetown.com, the latest internet statistics reveal that China is actively embracing such multi-functional online media platforms.

In January 2010 the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released the ‘25th Report on the Development of the Internet in China’.  The 90 page report offers a comprehensive analysis of online trends in China.

While not a surprise it was still daunting to see that China had usurped the US as the country with the most netizens – 384 million to be exact.  Think that number is impressive? Well, that is only a 29% penetration rate, which means we can expect the number to grow in coming years.

There are two gems within this dense report – the trend towards social networking and the rise in e-commerce.

There are now 176 million Chinese on social networking sites, with an impressive 46% penetration rate amongst internet users.  The sharp rise in virtual networkers is encouraging for those companies who use such mechanisms as part of their international e-marketing agenda.

With a history of trepidation over e-commerce capabilities in China, the other turnkey statistic to emerge was the jump in e-commerce by 80% YTD.  Signaling a vast improvement in Chinese consumer confidence in online purchasing, this should motivate companies to incorporate commercial transaction capabilities into their e-business strategy.

What these trends suggest is a shift in the behavioral pattern of internet usage towards a dialogue based on active involvement and exchange of services.

It is both reassuring and motivating to see that the internet usage trends in China confirm the validity of Liuxue Town as a promising online platform for international student recruitment.

(Source)