China is expected to overtake the United States as the world's largest e-commerce market by 2015, according to a report released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on Tuesday.

The country's e-commerce market is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 33 percent to reach more than 2 trillion yuan ($314 billion) in transaction value by 2015, and the number of e-commerce shoppers will grow to 329 million during the same period, said the report.

China had 485 million Internet users by the end of June, of which 142 million shopped online, according to figures from the China Internet Network Information Center.

"The affordable and widely available Internet across the country, the rapid growth in the number of Chinese consumers shopping online, and the relatively low cost of logistics are driving the growth of China's e-commerce industry," said Waldemar Jap, a Hong Kong-based partner at BCG and one of the primary authors of the report.

In 2006, less than 10 percent of China's urban population shopped online. That figure jumped to 23 percent by 2010 and will nearly double to 44 percent by 2015, BCG estimated.

In addition, the e-commerce market will account for 7.4 percent of the nation's total retail value in 2015, jumping from the current 3.3 percent, said the report.

Total sales of consumer goods jumped 17.2 percent year-on-year to 1.65 trillion yuan in October, while sales in the first 10 months hit 14.74 trillion yuan, a rise of 17 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Nov 9.

According to the BCG report, China's e-commerce market has benefited from low transportation costs but has been impeded by an inadequate delivery infrastructure. That situation has resulted in online shoppers regarding delivery of their orders as a top concern.

At present, the logistical cost of e-commerce in China is an average $1 to ship a parcel weighing 1 kilogram, compared with $6 in the US.

Youchi Kuo, a Hong Kong-based project leader at BCG's China Center for Consumer Insight, said some Chinese e-commerce companies such as Taobao.com and 360buy.com have already responded to consumer concerns about delivery by making massive investments in distribution centers nationwide.

Taobao.com's parent, Alibaba Group, announced earlier this year that it will invest 20 billion to 30 billion yuan to build a nationwide network of warehouses over the next three to five years in a bid to improve logistics.

"Chinese online shoppers are not just concerned about cost or the risk of damage during delivery. An incredible 45 percent of surveyed consumers said they worry that their purchases will be swapped for fakes in transit," Kuo said.

The BCG report was based on a survey of more than 4,000 online shoppers across China.

Questions:

1. What is the projected growth of China’s e-commerce market?

2. How many people in China shop online?

3. What is the primary concern for e-shoppers?

Answers:

1. Annual rate of 33 percent to reach more than 2 trillion yuan ($314 billion) in transaction value by 2015.

2. 142 million.

3. Delivery of their orders.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.