With the increase in sales of nianhuo, the special goods bought to celebrate the Spring Festival, the rising purchasing power of Chinese consumers is on full display.

According to an earlier report by China Daily, statistics from the Shanghai-based yhd.com, an online supermarket majority-owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc, showed that the sales of nianhuo surged about 100 percent year-on-year in January.

Latest figures from China Internet Network Information Center show that 236 million used smartphones to do online shopping, up 63.5 percent year-on-year. The growth rate was 3.2 times faster than the compound growth rate of online shopping market. More than 42 percent online shoppers were using smartphones to buy items, up 13.5 points than the previous year.

In the second part of the three-part series, we take a look at some service-oriented apps used by Chinese online shoppers during the holiday season.

The first part can be read here.

Taobao.com

Screenshots show the app of Taobao.com. Since Taobao does not provide English version website, you can click here for a guideline on how to shop on Taobao without a Chinese ID. [Photo/iTunes]

According to Alibaba Group, the company has seen an increase in customers using mobile phones to shop at its platforms like Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com. Annual active buyers rose 45 percent in 2014 to 334 million, while mobile monthly active users rose 95 percent in 2014 from 136 million to 265 million.