China's 2012 Internet Café Market Down 13% YoY
17173.com, 4/28/13
In its recent 2012 Report on the Chinese Internet Café Market, China's Ministry of Culture found that there was a total of 136,000 internet cafes around China as of the end of 2012, housing 11.95 mln computers and serving 126 mln users. Owing to a number of factors - including competition from mobile networks, rising operating costs, and a declining user base - the internet café market had total revenues of RMB 53.7 bln for 2012, down 13.2% YoY.
Online games, music, and search were the three main areas of demand for internet café users, while internet video usage continued to grow. The Internet café market is expected to continue to shrink, though expansion will continue to increase in second- and third-tier cities.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture said that, following 2012 efforts by Ministry of Culture subsidiary agencies and cultural market law enforcement bodies to promote the development of internet café chains, chains now account for 40% of China's internet cafes. Efforts to regulate the internet café market also remained strong, with more than 18,100 complaints filed and reviewed by authorities in 2012 and over 31,600 completed cases. A large number of unlicensed internet cafes are still in operation, according to the Ministry.
Keywords: national statistics Internet Ministry of Culture 2013 regulation revenue Internet cafe market size
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