Alibaba Execs Predict 2014 Online Developments For Small Retail Businesses

Michael Lee of Alibaba.com, and Jingming Li, vice president of Alibaba Group, put forward their predictions for how 2014 will play out for small retail businesses in the areas of m-commerce and e-commerce. For m-commerce, they expect small businesses will be able to access “more creative and low-cost or no-cost” mobile platforms; mobile checkout will need to be faster, more convenient and more secure; and US shoppers will increase their use of mobile wallets. They also expect cross-border e-commerce will expand as technology breaks down barriers and new online shoppers emerge from the BRIC and other growth economies, and that the growth of B2B e-commerce will outpace B2C e-commerce.