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Chinese E-commerce Giants Dominate Digital Market
Alibaba, PDD, JD.com, and ByteDance are the four major companies that dominate the Chinese market, with a combined annual revenue of over US$350 billion and 80% of the world’s largest e-commerce market.
With US$978 billion in revenue from Taobao and Tmall, Alibaba remains the largest, but its market share has changed dramatically. Alibaba, which in 2019 shared 70% of the Big 4’s GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) with JD.com, has faced growing competition from newer companies that put an emphasis on low prices and social commerce.
Source: ECDB
ByteDance’s Douyin has reached US$388 billion in GMV. Pinduoduo’s low-price strategy now captures almost a quarter of the Big 4’s GMV. Meanwhile, Shein has emerged as a significant global force through its parent company, Roadget Business Pte Ltd.
Since 2019, PDD Holdings has expanded by 300%, Shein has expanded by an incredible 1,200%, and ByteDance has become the fifth-largest e-commerce company globally with its 6,000% e-commerce activity.
European Market Entry: Mixed Success for Chinese Platforms Across Regions
With a 40% market share, Alibaba’s Trendyol leads the European GMV market, while Turkey holds a 21% lead. In its first year, Alibaba’s Miravia in Spain generated US$1 billion in GMV, with France and Spain coming in second and third, at 15% and 14%, respectively.
Source: ECDB
Germany is an interesting case study. Despite being the second-largest e-commerce market in Europe, it only accounts for 7% of Chinese companies’ European business, a situation that is largely due to strong domestic players like Otto, Zalando, and Ceconomy.
Chinese platforms, however, have become very popular: In its first year, Temu made US$750 million, ranking 13th in terms of marketplace size, while AliExpress grew 54% to over US$1 billion, securing seventh place.
Shein’s sales in Germany increased 40% to US$617 million, even though it only ranked 18th among online retailers.
40% of Spanish customers have used AliExpress, compared to just 11% of Germans.
This suggests that there are wide variations in consumer adoption.
It is probable that these trends will continue to alter the dynamics of European e-commerce given its rapid growth and the fact that Chinese e-commerce practices typically precede those of Western markets by a number of years.
