Asia’s largest refiner is keeping ahead of the curve with a new e-commerce site that could make it China's equivalent to Amazon.
The Ejoy365.com website has brought Sinopec online success Image: Ejoy365.com |
Large state-owned oil companies are not ordinarily known for their willingness to adapt to new trends. However, Chinese oil giant China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec, is capitalising on the nation’s booming e-commerce market.
By the end of 2012, the oil giant reported sales on its online platform, Ejoy365.com, had reached 40 million yuan ($6.42 million). The e-commerce site sells a wide range of goods including food and household items.
The Chinese major launched the site back in January 2012 to sell lubricants to consumers. Now online shoppers can buy anything from electric ovens to designer teapots online.
Realising the potential in China’s online boom, Sinopec has also developed an online Customer Relation Management System (CRM) to communicate with customers and store their data.
According to a recent report from China’s E-Commerce Research Centre, the number of online shoppers in China increased 21.7% year-on-year to 247 million people, with year-end transaction volumes soaring 64.7% to 1.32 trillion yuan ($211.5 billion) – roughly equivalent to the Philippines’ GDP.