A survey conducted by the China Internet Development Research Center under the Chinese academy of Social Sciences sys Chinese consumers made more online shopping than the average level for the Asian-Pacific region in 2005.

71.3 percent of Chinese netizens have tried online shopping. The average in the Asian-Pacific region is 70 percent. Online transaction in China soared 158 percent to 553.1 billion yuan last year from 350 billion yuan in 2004. The turnover last year reached 13.5 billion yuan, nearly tripling that of 2004.

The survey report released Sunday also predicts a surge of e-commerce in the five years to follow.

More than 60 million items are available online to 22 million B2C and C2C consumers. Books, digital products, computers and mobiles still are good sellers while products for sports, education, office work, and household necessities have gained increasing popularity since last year, showing consumers' growing interest in new varieties.

Only 4.7 percent of netizens receiving the survey said they would not try online shopping now, indicating that "more than 95 percent of Chinese netizens may become consumers of e-commerce in the future", said the report.

The report also states the possibility that conventional enterprises will further boost the e-commerce which is monopolized by IT companies. Supermarkets, manufacturers, as well as services like photo printing and flower delivery, will receive and handle their orders online.

Security is no longer a problem for online deals due to the development of online payments. The survey has found that some 70 percent of online shoppers prefer online settlement to cash.

However, online shoppers are concerned about the quality of online goods and after-sales service. In Beijing, for example, the local consumers' association handled more complaints about online shopping in October last year than the same month in the year before.

By People's Daily Online