Transaction volume of China's customer-to-customer (C2C) shopping market hit 31.17 billion yuan (US$4.55 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2008, up 144 percent year-on-year, and 22 percent from the third quarter, driven largely by the shopping boom at the end of the year, according to Beijing-based research house Analysys International.

The number of goods listed online reached 181.7 million in the fourth quarter, 14 percent higher than the previous quarter.

A C2C platform, launched two months ago by Chinese search engine Baidu.com, has already commanded a 13.8 percent market share in the number of listed goods online.

(China Daily March 4, 2009)