Alibaba.com a hit in Australia
The world's leading e-commerce company Alibaba.com now has well over 550,000 Australians using it as a business source, with an average of more than 20,000 people signing up to its site each month, latest figures show.
Alibaba.com will be presenting for the first time at the Asia Pacific's biggest business technology event today at the CeBIT Australia 10th anniversary conference at the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Alibaba.com Director International Business Development and Marketing Asia Pacific, Daphne Lee, who will speak at the CeBIT conference, said the number of Australians registered to the company's site had jumped 77 per cent over the past year to 558,000.
Founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, Alibaba.com helps small businesses grow by connecting them with potential customers and trusted suppliers from around the world for every imaginable good, from laptops to wedding dresses to auto parts and accessories.
Alibaba.com had more than 65 million registered users globally as of the end of March 2011.
"Australia has continued to be one of our largest growth markets in the world, surpassing the United States and Britain, and accounts for three per cent of total registered users on our international marketplace," Ms Lee said.
"Australia's e-commerce industry has experienced significant growth and Australian small and medium businesses are among the most prolific in the world when it comes to sourcing products and services internationally."
Figures show 87 per cent of Australian members are using Alibaba.com to source products or services, with apparel currently the most sourced category, followed by machinery, automobiles and motorcycles, home and garden products.
Ms Lee said China was the major supplier market for Australian buyers in the first quarter of 2011, accounting for 70 per cent of inquiries, while food and beverage as well as agriculture were the top 10 industries for Australian suppliers.
She said laptops and USB flash drives had been the most sought after Information and Communications Technology products by Australian buyers, accounting for more than 50 per cent of inquiries.
"China is the major supplier for ICT-related products for Australia overall, and it accounts for 62.2 per cent of buyer inquiries," Ms Lee said.
During Q1 2011, consumer electronics and computer hardware/software products accounted for 75 per cent of ICT product related Australian inquiries.
"Australian searches for tablet PCs increased by 80 per cent between May, 2010, and April, 2011, which suggests an overall rise in Australian buyers' demand for tablet computers," Ms Lee said.
"Conversely, the e-book phenomenon has faded somewhat with searches decreasing 32 per cent between May 2010 and April, 2011."
Ms Lee said in the telecommunications sector mobile phones (56 per cent) were by far the most sought after product, while projectors (47 per cent) and copiers (19 per cent) were the most popular office equipment items.
Ms Lee will address CeBIT delegates on Wednesday, June 1, 3.00 pm at the conference's retail business theatre while Alibaba.com will have a large booth at the exhibition.
CeBIT is Australia's largest ICT exhibition with more than 600 exhibitors and 30,000 trade visitors from Australia and overseas.