2012: a remarkable year for online shopping

Online shopping has witnessed skyrocketing growth in China in 2012, with e-commerce giant Alibaba booking record sales volumes. Taobao is Alibaba's popular online marketplace and CCTV reporter Wang Lihuan sat down with one Taobao online shop owner who experienced quite a remarkable year.

25 year old Cai Wei hand picks all the items for her online shop on Taobao. With a strong interest in fashion, she first tried running a physical store, but soon switched online.

Cai Wei, Shop Owner, Taobao, said, "I moved online because I can reach more costumers, and people across the country who like our clothing can buy from my shop. That's the most important reason."

Cai opened her shop less than two years ago, right out of her apartment. Although rent was no longer a factor, managing inventory, shipping, and customer service all by herself was no easy task. It took her more than six months to start making money, but at that point decided to quit her job as a make-up artist to become full time Taobao shop owner.

Cai Wei, Shop Owner, Taobao, said, "A lot of people told me that I started doing Taobao too late, because there are so many people competing with you, a lot of shops with blue crowns or golden crowns ratings, that there was no way I could compete with them. But I didn't think it was too late at all."

Now Cai easily makes more than 10,000 yuan a month, and that's five times the amount she made a year ago. One of her secrets? Beautiful photos. Cai models all her clothing, and she thinks showing costumers how to wear them goes a long way towards explaining her success. She even managed to convince her photographer to work with her full time.

Liang Chenqian, Photographer, Taobao, said, "I think Taobao is a great platform for women to start their own businesses, because it's relatively easy to get in, and has a lot of growth potential."

Last year, Taobao's parent company Alibaba sold 1 trillion yuan worth of goods on Taobao and Tmall, making it the biggest e-commerce company in the world. The company accounted for an amazing 60 percent of all packages delivered in China, about 12 million in a single day. Cai currently rates 3 diamonds on Taobao, which means she has received between 1,000 and 2,000 good reviews. Her 2013 goals are simple and clear -- a crown rating, which means 10,000 good reviews.