Chinese favour online shopping

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It adds that retailers operating on the high street simply cannot keep pace with the growth. Observers point out that while retail in China is quickly beginning to mirror the equivalent in Western nations, both retailers and consumers are unprepared to take advantage of changes to infrastructure.

Shopping malls are common in Chinese cities, but while people use them to socialise and relax, there is apparently a distinct lack of actual business passing through the stores.

Instead, people in the suburbs are shopping online to buy groceries, electronics, toys and many other household items that physical stores may have offered, were they available locally.

According to the BBC, last year, $82 billion worth of retail sales in China were online transactions. That is just about a tenth of the total retail sales, but a 95% increase on the value of Internet transactions a year earlier.

Korea is the most developed online shopping market in Asia, followed by Japan, although China is catching up.

However, The Street says just because more people shop online, doesn't mean they'll stop shopping at stores completely.

For most retail sectors, a physical store can serve a fundamentally different function, giving consumers the ability to see, taste and touch the products in a way that is impossible online.

The challenge for retailers in the future, industry analysts say, will be to figure out a way to play up the strengths of the bricks-and-mortar store while incorporating new technology into the experience.