Market Trends of China Domestic Courier, Express, and Parcel (CEP) Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the China Domestic Courier Express & Parcel Market according to our research experts:
Growth of E-Commerce in China Driving the CEP Market
China's e-commerce market is not only large but diverse, providing rich pickings from a variety of brands. Although richer cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen remain important, the main growth drivers are smaller and less wealthy cities. These cities are home to emerging middle-income buyers who have turned to online stores in droves due to limited access to physical retail stores in their cities. They mainly purchase value-for-money consumer and household necessities rather than high-end goods.
In 2021, China contributed more than half of the world's e-commerce retail sales, with its sales value exceeding that of Europe and the United States combined. In 2021, China had the world's largest digital buyer population, with over 840 million people.
In 2021, over 90% of e-commerce sales in China were through mobile devices versus 43% in the United States. More broadly, in 2021, China had 932 million mobile internet users representing 99.2% mobile internet penetration.
The government announced plans to build 5G networks in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other key cities in 2019. In 2021, operators had 450 million customers, or 27% of all subscribers, and 1.15 million 5G base stations. In 2021, the handset sector shipped 210 million 5G phones, up 69% from 2020.
The improvements in technology are projected to improve internet connectivity in rural regions, hence boosting the country's internet user base. With increased internet usage among residents, the e-commerce industry is expected to develop rapidly, thus, propelling the expansion of China's CEP market.
Growth of Courier and Parcel Market Fueling CEP Growth in China
According to the country's postal service regulator, China's courier industry handled more than 74 billion packages in 2021, an average of 52 deliveries for each individual. According to the bureau, over 63 billion packages were delivered via express service in 2020, recording a 24% increase year-on-year.
According to the State Post Bureau, the Chinese express delivery development index stood at 316.2 in 2021, up 11.1% year-on-year. The development scale sub-index was 343.8, up 26.2% year-on-year, while the service quality sub-index was 483.3, up 5.6% year-on-year.
New delivery service models have been emerging, bringing courier services to more villages. In 2021, a courier-postal service combination was introduced to 155,000 administrative villages.
In 2021, the State Post Bureau (SPB) continued to tap into the rural market's potential, constructing 40 new high-quality programs demonstrating courier services' facilitation of modern agriculture, bringing the total to 100. In 2021, 37 billion express parcels were collected and shipped to rural areas across China, facilitating USD 290.26 billion in rural-urban commodity exchanges.
