How Retailers Attract Customers In E-commerce In China?

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How Retailers Attract Customers to E-Commerce in China
Introduction
China has experienced exponential growth in its online retail industry in the past decade (Qi and Tapoi 104)0. Kahn (2) attributes such immense advancements to the fact that Chinese retailers have increased their investments in platforms such as escrow; one of the most secure online systems of making payments. Key players in China’s e-retail market include Taobao Marketplace, T-mall.com, 360buy, Amazon and Dangdang.com. Jie et al. (105) reveal that the success of these platforms is owed to the fact that the global online purchasing landscape experiences an annual growth rate ranging between 15% and 20%. However, the Chinese e-market boasts of its exponential growth rate of about 70% on a yearly basis (Du and Tang 1). On the other hand, Subramanian et al. (69) explain that the economy’s 150 million internet users devote a budget ranging between $200 and $250 for online trade annually. Jiang, Ju and Yang (302) demystify that in 2015 alone; China’s e-retail market was worth $305 billion.
The effectiveness of China’s e-retail is not only owed to the inherent capabilities of its stakeholders in availing consumers with products but also their optimal potencies in fostering satisfaction by delivering high-quality systems (Clemes, Gan and Zhang 365). According to Liu e al. (264), the quality and ease of the shopping procedures applied in e-retail platforms play a crucial role in influencing the client's decision to make purchases, directing customer loyalty and therefore, attracting referrals. While the e-retail segment of the Chinese economy has experienced optimal developments in the last ten years, the current study seeks to audit the efficacy of e-commerce in attracting customers by availing a better environment of fostering purchase, tough personalization choices and the effectiveness of the customer control mechanisms.
Research question and definition of terms
The study proceeds with the aim of finding answers to the following research questions:
1 How does the Chinese e-commerce retail industry attract its consumer segments?
2 What is the significance of service quality factors in fostering the development of the Chinese e-retail stores?
3 What is the importance of the logistical processes adopted by e-retailers in fostering the global competitiveness of the Chinese market?
In the ensuing sections of the study, the electronic retailing (henceforth e-retailing) will be used to generalize all forms of trade that are carried out through internet platforms. On the other hand, the terms consumers and customers will be adopted to imply all clients are making use of e-retail systems in trade.
Hypothesis
The study reveals that while the e-retail segment of the Chinese economy has experienced optimal developments in the last ten years, the current study seeks to audit the efficacy of e-commerce in attracting customers by availing a better environment of fostering purchase, tough personalization choices and the effectiveness of the customer control mechanisms.
Literature Review
The Chinese E-Retail Market
The efficacy of this study is based on a comprehensive understanding of the online retail market in China and its development. According to Khan, Awan, and Ho (147), online trading was advanced in the Chinese market in 2007 following Taobao’s successful move of launching thejamydotcom in 2007. Towers and Xu (128) explain that the founders of this platform attained immense success in applying the concepts of market intelligence that played a significant role in availing e-entrepreneurs with an improved insight of estimating the country’s potential for online businesses as well as proper avenues of developing their B2B retail strategies. To date, the Chinese online retail economy has seen tremendous growth both in its size and speed. Jiang, Ju and Yang (302) estimate that online expenditure in this market will reach about $1 trillion by 2019. Qi and Tapio (54) attribute such an explosive growth to the advancements of logistic networks and penetration of mobile applications among the members of the populace. By 2013, China’s online retail market had grown to become the largest with a total sales revenue of about $300 billion (Kahn 2).
The effects of trust on the development of the Chinese e-retail market
Trust plays a significant role in fostering economic growth in business environments such as online trading platforms which are characterized by higher degrees of dependency and uncertainty in the transactions advanced (Qi and Tapio 56). According to Khan, Awan, and Ho (147), successful penetration of online trading platforms is highly determined by the trustworthiness of the agencies adopted to initiate the underlying transactions. Jiang, Ju, and Yang (302) reveal that the efficacy of trust in trade is attributed to its ability to influence other inherent factors such as increasing the degrees of privacy and security of the stakeholders undertaking business operations. Furthermore, the effectiveness of online trading platforms is limited by critical issues such as the geographical distance between the client and the vendor as well as the physical separation between the customer and the commodities and services ordered. As a consequence, retailers are faced with the obligatory challenge of advancing ties that are based on trustworthiness a way of nurturing loyalty among their consumers.
Vendors dealing with E-Systems to initiate sales are faced with the obligation of cultivating its antecedents. However, Jiang, Ju, and Yang (302) explain that the global framework embraced by the internet presents consumers will to make use of online systems in fostering their purchases. Subramanian et al. (71) demystify that while the issue of trust may be analyzed in multiple ways, cultural factors such as the values and norms upheld by the client’s society play an influential role in fostering the advancement of trustworthy ties. Similarly, Du and Tang (2) reveal that the cultural backgrounds of the customer are of the critical essence in influencing the underlying antecedents of trust when making choices concerning online retail stores. In the cross-cultural e-retail adoption model advanced by Subramanian et al. (72), the researchers found out that trust imposes direct influences on the underlying consumer attitudes among members drawn from all cultures.
The Impacts of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in the Chinese E-Retail Market
Jiang, Ju and Yang (308) describe service quality as an aspect of the initial expectations upheld by a client concerning the type of services sought for relative to the actual experiences availed by the business process. According to Towers and Xu (127), customers express service quality based on their previous experiences with the brand in question, the image portrayed by the retail store and the quantitative value of the services offered. Similarly, Subramanian et al. (70) reveal that the kind of perceptions upheld by the selected consumer segment is highly dependent on the judgments held concerning the performance of the service provid...