Year 2015 is almost over; let’s recall some of the top keywords for China internet that got so much attention in the world: outbound tourism, cross-border online shopping, mobile, WeChat, Tmall…

Here are the most popular CIW articles in 2015:

1. Baidu, Sogou among Top 5 Biggest Search Engines in the World. eMarketer estimated that in 2015, the total spend of digital advertising in the world will exceed US$170.85 billion according to its report released on 31 March 2015. Baidu and Sohu ranked the second and fourth respectively in the top 5 biggest search engines by revenue in 2014.

Also read: China Search Engine Market Share, and China’s Mobile Search Market

2. China E-commerce Market Overview. In Q1 2015, the total transaction value of China e-commerce market exceeded RMB3.48 trillion (USD$567.49 billion) with an increase of 10.1% YoY and 23.8% QoQ. In accordance with China B2B market and online shopping market in Q1 2015, e-commerce market had slowed its YoY growth. Besides, it is now evolving into a new stage.

• China Online Cosmetics Market Overview
• China Online Shopping Accounted for over 10% of Total Retail
• 10 Charts to Tell You Almost Everything About Alibaba Group
• Stats of Top Selling Brands on Taobao/Tmall in 18 Categories in Sep 2014
• How Japanese AV Idol Sora Aoi Sells on China Social Media
• China Top 100 E-Commerce Companies in Q3 2015

3. Wechat Launched Wechat Contacts App Offering Free Calls.  Wechat released a Wechat Contacts app as an enhancement to smartphones’ existing contacts.

• How Wechat Users Search For Public Accounts
• China Social Media Users Insights in 2015
• WeChat, Weibo or Alipay? Who Won Hongbao War in 2015?
• WeChat & Weibo Users Most Active Social Shoppers in the World
• Wechat 5.0 Public Account Operation Guide
• 20 Charts on WeChat Shopping Market
• How WeChat Drives Viral Marketing of Local Specialities
• The Value of WeChat Official Accounts
• WeChat to Launch Themed Campaign on China Children’s Day
• WeChat Daily Active Users Reached 570 Mln in Sep 2015

3.  China B2B E-commerce Market in Q1 2015. China B2B e-commerce market reached RMB 5.48 billion (USD 883 million) in Q1 2015, an decrease of 1.6% QoQ according to Analysis International.

4. China Female Online Shopper Insights 2015. Shoes and bags accounted for 27.3% of all the categories of online products, being the best selling product category. Cosmetics ranked the third, which showed female online shopping is booming in China.

5. China Mobile Social Networking Users to Reach 335.9 Mln in 2015. The number will continue grow and by 2019, users will exceed 480.4 million, representing 34.8% of total population.

6. 80% China’s Mobile Users Rooted Smartphones in 2014 Compared with traditional channels to download ROM, ROM official website is more resourceful and categorized. 36.4% respondents would like to download on official websites in 2014. However, there were fewer smartphone users downloading ROM from online communities.

• The Secrets Of Xiaomi Marketing Success in China
• China Top 100 Mobile Apps in July 2015
• 70% App Downloads From Mobile App Stores in China
• China Mobile Internet Insights in H1 2015

7.  Rise of the China Outbound Tourism. China outbound tourists on average spent RMB 20,000 (US$3,252) during travel per person and shopping is an important part of their spend in oversea trips (57.8%).

• China Tourists Travel Intention Study 2015
• Chinese Luxury Traveler Insights 2015
• China, the Largest Outbound Tourism Market in 3 Consecutive years
• China to Be the Largest Business Travel Market Worldwide in 2016
• China Online Accommodation Booking Market in Q3 2015
• China Online Travel Market Overview in Q3 2015

Last but not least, we wish you a Happy New Year with the hope that you will have many blessings in the year to come!