Online lifts sales of appliances

Source: Xinhua | 2018-08-13

Online sales of home appliances in China grew rapidly in the first half of the year amid an e-commerce boom, a report showed.

Total online sales were 264.1 billion yuan (US$38.6 billion) in the first half, up 22 percent year on year, according to a report by the China Center for Information Industry Development under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Chinese consumers tend to buy products such as floor-cleaning robots and vacuum cleaners online rather than in brick-and-mortar stores, with sales made via e-commerce channels far outnumbering those made offline, the report said.

Sales of high-end products were particularly strong. Online sales of air conditioners priced from 5,000 to 6,999 yuan surged by 58.8 percent in the first half.