Alibaba lowers shipping costs

Alibaba.com, owner of China's online-commerce site for businesses, says it has began offering some customers reduced shipping costs as part of efforts to expand overseas, reveals Bloomberg Business Week.

Users of Alibaba's AliExpress site may save as much as 30% of their shipping costs under the discount programme, Hangzhou, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

Alibaba said it's offering the plan with GELS Enterprise Shanghai, and will use services of logistics companies including United Parcel Service”.

E-commerce has become the fastest-growing Internet activity in China after the number of online shoppers increased by almost 50% to 160 million last year, the China Internet Network Information Center says, according to People's Daily Online.

The number of China's netizens hit 457 million, continuing to be the largest globally, according to a bi-annual report released by the organisation, which has been tracking the development of the Internet in China since 1997.

The domestic research company Analysys International says in terms of sales, the online-shopping market grew by more than 370% year-on-year, reaching 520 billion yuan last year.

Google has confirmed that it is working with small enterprises on a trial of a prepaid offer or voucher programme, a business similar to that of Groupon, a company which Google tried to acquire last year, reports PC World

Google offered little other details of the test. "This initiative is part of an ongoing effort at Google to make new products, such as the recent Offer Ads beta, that connect enterprises with customers in new ways," according to a statement.

"We do not have more details to share at this time, but will keep you posted," it added.