BRICS made up 47% of global online retail sales in 2016

02 Sep '17

2 min read

With 1.46 billion Internet users and 720 million online shoppers, the online retail sales of BRICS nations surpassed $876 billion in 2016, accounting for 47 per cent of the global total, says a report by the Ali Research Institute affiliated to Chinese firm Alibaba. The figure may reach 59 per cent by 2022 as the five nations have great e-commerce potential.

Of the 2016 figure of 1.46 billion Internet users in the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — China accounted for 731 million and India 432 million. The report was released ahead of the BRICS summit in Xiamen next week. China holds the BRICS presidency this year.

Indian handicrafts and spices, Russian candy and cookies, Brazilian nuts and propolis and South African grapefruit and wine were best sellers on China's e-commerce platforms, according to a Chinese news agency, which quoted the report.

Among made-in-China products, BRICS customers favoured the most clothes, accessories, mobile phones and electronic products, according to AliExpress, Alibaba’s e-commerce site for cross-border exports.

"Increasing disposable income, wide use of the Internet and improved payment and logistics services have driven the sustained and rapid development of e-commerce in the five countries," said Ouyang Cheng from the Ali Research Institute. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

More Apparel/Garments News - China...