Online shopping of packaged goods is expected to grow globally from a 3.7% ratio in 2014 up to 5.2% in 2016, accounting for almost USD 53 billion.

"Online sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) excluding fresh produce would rise 47% by 2016 from a current USD 36 billion."

"South Korea would keep its lead position for online FMCG sales, increasing ecommerce’s share of the market to 13.8% by 2016 from 10.2% in 2014."

"France is expected to surpass the UK, due to the popularity of in-store collection facilities for goods ordered online, with online sales of packaged goods rising to 6.1% by 2016 from 3.9% in 2014, growing more slowly in Britain to 5.5% from 4.9%."

"For the US market, about one quarter of all spending to be on consumer goods, reaching about USD 222 billion a year."

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The Australian ecommerce sector may not be able to catch up with the Asia counterpart in terms of growth, Sarv Girn, chief information officer at the Reserve Bank of Australia warns.

"However, Girn reveals that the internet penetration rate in Asia is very low, when compared with Australia, but the former is growing more rapidly than the rest of the world. India, which has the third largest online user base globally after China and the US, has an internet penetration rate of just 17.4 per cent."

"Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region will spend more money online than the US for the first time ever in 2014. And for every USD 10 spent, 6 will come from China."

"According to official figures from the China Internet Network information Center, China has 618 million internet users as of December 2013. In other words, China has an online population 33 times that of Australia with only a 45.8% penetration rate. Half of them shops online."

"A partnership between China’s ecommerce company Alibaba and Australia Post has been set in place in order to simplify cross-border steps between the two countries. Through the agreement, businesses no longer have to register as Chinese business entities or employ local staff in the country. Australian businesses now have the option of piggy-backing off Australia Post and shipping their products from Australia."

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"As the proportion of e-commerce accounted for in consumption is growing, the demand for cross-border electricity providers increasingly large. With the Shanghai pilot platform line of cross-border electricity supplier, electricity suppliers will solve the problem of export tax rebates, reduce costs and bring substantial positive foreign trade enterprises, but also the underlying stocks of the catalyst."

"Shanghai cross-border trade aspects of e-commerce services to select three pilot content: to promote and improve the online direct purchase of imported models, online shopping bonded imported models and general export model. Direct purchase of imported models and online shopping bonded imported model was on trial operation last November. Up to now, a total of 24 home appliance supplier, six cross-border logistics enterprises in the customs completed record. Related industries, including third-party payment, logistics, electronic business platform, which third-party payment, and airport logistics and other areas of the company is expected to lead to benefit. Related investment targets include business treasure, Commodity City, Sinotrans Development, Focus Technology, CTS logistics, Yangtze investment."

"Data shows that in 2011 the cross-border e-commerce transactions amounted to 1.6 trillion yuan, an increase of 33%; 2012 cross-border transaction volume 2 trillion yuan, an increase of over 25%. Prospects Industry Research Institute analysis, with the start of cross-border e-commerce platform for the pilot, our focus on cross-border e-commerce industry will show explosive growth in 2015 is expected to exceed 4 trillion."

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To most people xenophobic attitudes and racism are all the same. The Talking about Taboos project launched in 2013 with an aim to see if different types of xenophobic actions exist and to see how different people view understand the concept of racism and xenophobia.

There are 5 partner countries involved and we have all identified a separate topic. The aim is to see if any best practices can be identified that are common to all forms of xenophobic activities:

• France Racist expressions and behaviour among minorities present in an adult training setting
• UK Separate Asian and other football associations. The big question of why there are no (or very few) Asians in football and many other sports.
• Italy Racist expressions and behaviour among original Italians against immigrants
• Poland The Rainbow discussion: For more information see: https://www.artsjournal.com/aestheticgrounds/rainbows-less-joy-burning-in-warsaw/
• The Netherlands The Black Pete discussion. For more information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet

"Since 2010, the ecommerce industry in Italy is experiencing a double-digit growth every year. This year it will probably grow by 17%, so the ecommerce industry in Italy will be worth 13.2 billion euros. Another thing that’s growing very hard is mobile commerce. In two years it grew from 164 million to 1.2 billion euros."

"There are as many as 20 million Italians who at least once in their lives bought something online. Over 16 million have made an online purchase in the last three months. And there are 9.4 million regular e-shoppers, who buy online on a monthly basis. This laster number increased by slightly 20% in the last year."

"Mobile ecommerce reached 637 million last year, but in 2014 it’s expected to grow further by 85%. This way the mobile ecommerce industry will probably reach 1 billion euros at the end of this year. Also, purchases made via smartphones and tablets will reach 19% of total ecommerce in 2014."

"Online orders in Italy are mostly paid at the time of order and only 14% is paid upon delivery. The average value of an online order is about the same between men (€80) and women (€78)."

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