China's Taobao transactions rise 97 pct in H1 2009

SHANGHAI, Aug 20 2009 - China's top online auction firm, Taobao, said on Thursday its transaction volume in the first half of the year rose 97 percent to 80.9 billion yuan ($11.8 billion) while spending-per-order fell slightly due to the economic slowdown.

Taobao officials said the rise in volume was due to a 101 percent jump in the number of registered users and the growing acceptance of e-commerce among China's Internet users.

"What is most interesting is the level of mainstream acceptance of using online retail channels to shop for everyday items," said Jonathan Lu, president of Taobao.

Taobao said for the first half of 2009, household goods became the top-selling catergory by total sales transaction value, with Taobao merchants selling 438 household items per minute.

Taobao, which is widely considered China's eBay (EBAY.O), has a 78 percent share of China's domestic online consumer market, the firm said, quoting statistics from iResearch.

China's domestic consumer spending has remained resilient during the global economic downturn as Beijing's massive stimulus spending has helped to sustain income growth.