Executive Summary

China is a world leader in ecommerce and digital marketing innovation. But what’s in store for China’s digital economy as retail growth slows and a new tech regulatory climate comes into play?

• As China’s economy slows down, how will ecommerce sales be affected?
• How will Alibaba recover from a regulatory crackdown by the Chinese government?
• What is the outlook for Meituan and Didi, China’s biggest players in food delivery and ride hailing, now that the government has stepped in?
• What’s next for short-form video and its standard-bearers like Douyin and Kuaishou?
• Will China win the race to commercialize artificial reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) metaverse shopping?

KEY STAT: Ecommerce growth in China will decline to 13.0% in 2022. After a decade of unbelievable expansion in digital shopping, China’s sales increases are expected to settle into globally normal levels going forward.