[Customers scan QR codes for discounts at a shop in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang province. China is migrating away from personal computer-based Internet access to mobile device-based Internet usage much quicker than anywhere else in the world. Last year more Chinese accessed the Internet via smartphones than PCs. [Photo/China Daily]]

Disruptive power of technology continues to refashion retail

The nation is migrating away from personal computer-based Internet access to mobile device-based Internet usage much quicker than anywhere else in the world.

Last year, for the first time, more Chinese accessed the Internet via smartphones than PCs.

The Internet landscape in China is rapidly shifting to mobile with mobile Internet contributing 23.7 percent to China's Internet economy, the value of which soared to 224 billion yuan ($35.98 billion) in the third quarter of 2014, according to iResearch.

Experts say big changes have been made by the Internet to people's everyday life in 2014, with apps now being developed for almost every need.

They say there are four main sectors that are experiencing the most changes enabled by Internet in 2014 and where mobile Internet will further change in 2015.

The Search

Search functions may not be crucial in attracting users in the era of the mobile Internet, because smartphone users can find the information they want via apps without using a search engine first.

So it was a milestone for Baidu Inc when it said that its mobile search traffic had for the first time exceeded its PC-based search traffic during the third quarter of 2014.

"What we are seeing is that the likes of Baidu are actually developing two different services that suit the needs of both PC and mobile users. For example, mobile search caters for users who are on the go, who want an answer quickly, typically about finding a local restaurant or viewing cinema timetables.

These search results aren't cluttered with different sources. They're very simple and straightforward," said Neil Flynn, head equity analyst at Chinese Investors, which covers United States-listed Chinese companies.

Flynn said that search underwent a key shift last year, with all search engine companies actively focusing on their mobile search business.

UCWeb Inc, a leading Chinese browser maker and app distributor, teamed up with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in April to launch a mobile search service called shenma to join in the competition of mobile search.