Whether it's buying a rice cooker, or a laptop - shopping online in China has revved up from almost nothing a decade ago to a market of about 200 million consumers.

But for retailers tossing their goods onto the net - online retail isn't necessarily translating into quick money.

"I think at the moment, it is actually still a little bit of a land grab to be honest, where some of the bigger platforms are trying to establish themselves."

GOME is a prime example.

The firm has posted a loss for the first nine months of this year after it waged an online price war against peers such as Suning and a host of other virtual malls.

16 out of 19 analysts have a hold or sell on the firm.

"Like its competitors, one area challenging GOME has been steep discounting of goods as competition becomes cutthroat. Firms are launching price wars and promotions to capture user attention."

On the success side - the clear winner right now is Taobao. Its virtual shopping mall Tmall, gives access to individual brands.

"I think ultimately I would imagine that there is probably two or three large players that play across different product categories that would be reasonably successful, that would have good distribution, the same day delivery, reach into a lot of cities in China."

However tighly controlled in content - the Internet has now blossomed across China - social media, games, shopping.

But for Internet users problems may lurk in the brick and mortar behind the glossy sites. The large number of new players may struggle to guarantee goods and deliver on time in a market known for copycats and logistical tangles.

And for firms like GOME, the e-commerce explosion and its ability to reach so many shoppers, is already proving a mixed blessing.