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The great mall of China<br>Why retailers everywhere should look to China<br>That is where they will see the future of e-commerce<br><br>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.<br><br>Yet as we explain this week (see Business section) 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 fi...