Japan saw a sharp rise in Internet-based business-to-business and business-to-consumer commerce last year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday.
Business-to-business e-commerce for the year rose 33 percent from the previous year to 102.7 trillion yen, led by a 22 percent expansion in the automobile segment, it said.
Electronics and information equipment sales in the market leveled off, while food sales grew 77 percent, the ministry said in a joint survey conducted by NTT Data Institute of Management Consulting Inc. and the Next Generation Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan.
The business-to-consumer market in 2004 swelled 28 percent to 5.6 trillion yen, including mobile commerce sales that rose from 777 billion yen to 971 billion yen, it said.
Sales of medicine, cosmetics and health food in the business-to-consumer market surged 44 percent, while those of home electric appliances 42 percent, it said.