本期導讀

本文節選自《經濟學人》20210102期的封面文章。中國電商行業發展迅速并處于領先地位，其市場規模早在2013年就已經超過了美國；而如今，中國電子零售市場的市值比美國和歐洲加起來還要多。

The online boom

The future of global e-commerce

Retailers everywhere should look to China

OVER THE past ten months most people in the rich world have participated in the biggest shopping revolution in the West since malls and supermarkets conquered suburbia 50 years ago. The pandemic has led to a surge in online spending, speeding up the shift from physical stores by half a decade or so. Forget the chimney; Christmas gifts in 2020 came flying through the letterbox or were dumped on the doorstep. Workers at a handful of firms, including Amazon and Walmart, have made superhuman efforts to fulfil online orders, and their investors have made supernormal profits as Wall Street has bid up their shares on euphoria that Western retailing is at the cutting edge.

conquer 意思是“（成功地）對付，克服”suburbia 指“郊區及其居民的生活方式（或態度等）”chimney 指“煙囪”dump 意思是“隨便堆放”，它還有“丟棄；傾倒”的意思。euphoria 表示“（通常指持續時間較短的）極度愉快的心情，極度興奮的情緒”at the cutting edge 是個短語，意思是“處于最前沿；處于領先地位”

Yet as we explain this week it is in China, not the West, where the future of e-commerce is being staked out. Its market is far bigger and more creative, with tech firms blending e-commerce, social media and razzmatazz to become online-shopping emporia for 850m digital consumers. And China is also at the frontier of regulation, with the news on December 24th that trustbusters were investigating Alibaba, co-founded by Jack Ma, China’s most celebrated tycoon, and until a few weeks ago its most valuable listed firm. For a century the world’s consumer businesses have looked to America to spot new trends, from scannable barcodes on Wrigley’s gum in the 1970s to keeping up with the Kardashians’ consumption habits in the 2010s. Now they should be looking to the East.

stake out sth. 本意是“明確闡述（看法等）”，在這里可以理解為“中國電商市場的未來十分明朗”razzmatazz 指“令人眼花繚亂的活動”trustbuster 意思是“反壟斷者”tycoon 表示“大亨，巨頭”，類似的表達參見《新冠疫苗研發取得新進展》（點擊跳轉）listed firm 意思是“上市公司”，list 用作動詞表示“上市”barcode 指“條形碼”gum 意思是“口香糖”，Wrigley 是“箭牌公司”

China’s lead in e-commerce is not entirely new. By size, its market overtook America’s in 2013—with little physical store space, its consumers and retailers leapfrogged ahead to the digital world. When Alibaba listed in 2014 it was the world’s largest-ever initial public offering. Today the country’s e-retailing market is worth $2trn, more than America’s and Europe’s combined. But beyond its sheer size it now stands out from the past, and from the industry in the West, in several crucial ways.

leapfrog 意思是“躍進，越級提升”sheer 在這里用作形容詞，用來強調事物的大小、程度或數量；比如 We were impressed by the sheer size of the cathedral. 大教堂的宏大規模給我們留下了深刻的印象。“the sheer size” 強調教堂規模之大。