Online home appliance sales soar in first half

Shoppers splashed out 216 billion yuan ($32.1 billion) on online home appliances in China in the first half of the year, an industry report revealed.

This was an increase of 16.9 percent year-on-year as the trend of buying major household goods on the internet intensified.

Figures released by the China Center for Information Industry Development showed that sales of flat screen televisions, air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines reached 74.7 billion yuan during the same period, a 41 percent increase year-on-year.