In January 2013, China’s internet user base reached 564 million users. China’s smartphone users have also surpassed the 300 million mark, signaling a tectonic shift towards mobile internet usage. Despite strict censorship controls on internet content in China, social media has caught on with unprecedented momentum. Established Twitter-like platforms such as Sina Weibo and Tencent […]
Digital Marketing and China’s Expanding Internet: China’s Exploding Mobile Internet
In January 2013, China’s internet user base reached 564 million users. China’s smartphone users have also surpassed the 300 million mark, signaling a tectonic shift towards mobile internet usage. Despite strict censorship controls on internet content in China, social media has caught on with unprecedented momentum. Established Twitter-like platforms such as Sina Weibo and Tencent […]
China’s E-Commerce Companies Go Global
Can China’s e-commerce companies like Jingdong Mall and VANCL replicate their success in international markets? Just a few weeks before stepping down, Jack Ma, the founder and former CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, addressed the students of Stanford University. While talking of his humble start in China’s e-commerce industry and his rise to the […]
Search Engine Scuffles: Why lightweight Sogou is still an Important Player
Chinese search engine lightweight, Sogou, has recently garnered industry-wide attention and sparked rumors of a takeover by heavyweight Baidu. What’s all the fuss about? Sogou, literally translated as “Search Dog”, is one of China’s largest search engines with approximately 400 million active users. The search engine couples unique Chinese language keyword input software with a […]
What will Showrooming do to Brick and Mortar Retail in China?
Will the rise of e-commerce and “showrooming” kill traditional retail? Brick and mortar retail once felt fairly brick-like. In mature markets, some of the department stores were more than 100 years old, and sometimes even looked a bit like castles. Later, malls and big box stores popped up, and created a whole new landscape, that […]
Transitioning Online: Suning’s e-Commerce Strategy
Sun Weimin, Vice-President of China’s electronics giant Suning, on the company’s foray into e-commerce and the synergies between brick-and-mortar and online One of the biggest “3C” (computer, communication and consumer-electronics) retailers in China, Suning Appliances operates more than 1,700 chain stores, with one seemingly on every street corner of Mainland China. In a recent survey, […]
China’s E-commerce Consumers Wise-Up
Increasingly sophisticated online consumers are pushing China’s cyber retailers to the next level Just as clever marketers have whittled the meaning of Christmas down to the goods that are gifted on the 25th of December, festive days in China are quickly following suit. Singles Day—a celebration of bachelorhood on the 11th of November—seems to have […]
Digital Promised Land: Retailers Look to E-Commerce to Succeed in China
Can Western retail brands make it big in China’s e-market? In September 2012, The Home Depot announced that it was closing all seven of its megastores in China. After eight years of consumer research and a $100-million 12-store acquisition, The Home Depot called it quits in China after realizing that China isn’t a sure return […]
Mobile Advertising: Tailor-Made in China
China is the world’s largest smartphone user market and, according to Techweb, by December 2012 the percentage of users in China accessing the internet from mobile platforms reached 74.9%. At 420 million users this is a huge opportunity for advertisers to access their customers constantly and more directly than ever before via mobile advertising. But […]
Download the March 2013 issue of CKGSB Magazine: Tapping homegrown innovation
You are invited to download the March issue of CKGSB Magazine. You’ll enjoy articles and interviews like: COVER STORY: Innovation: Incubators tap homegrown innovation in China. With close similarities to incubators in Silicon Valley and an arsenal of China-specific tactics for start-up success, Chinese incubators are moving beyond the traditional role of incubators. They are creating […]
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