Chinese retail is on the rise, and with its current trajectory, the United States is set to be knocked off of its top position.
It has been projected that China will overtake the US in the retail sector before the end of 2019. The reason for China’s exponential growth can be tied to a variety of sources. China’s immense population of 1.4 billion is vastly greater than the US population of 325 million, undoubtedly contributing to the country’s impressive growth.
China has seen a retail rise in popularity, with online shopping being dramatically more prevalent here. In the US brick and mortar, establishments are playing with online while attempting to sustain their establishments, whereas China has embraced the online culture, allowing for swifter growth. The result is 30 percent of retail sales in China for 2019 expecting to come from online sectors, with only 11 percent being reflected in the US. With an increase in incomes across the country and a widespread urbanisation underway, it is more than China’s population size which is responsible for this growth.
Data from eMarketer indicates that Chinese retail will grow 7.5 percent this year, while the US retail sector is only expected to rise by 3.3 percent.
China is becoming a retail superpower, while the US continues to struggle with the balance of online vs bricks-and-mortar experiences.
