The Belt and Road Initiative will benefit retail sector in all countries and regions involved in the initiative after development of infrastructure, telecommunications services and expanding applications of payment technologies, said a report by consultancy services provider PwC released Friday afternoon in Shanghai.

The report was released when the firm launched Belt & Road United, a membership-based platform that promotes sharing and exploring of business opportunities for countries and regions involved in Belt and Road Initiative.

Cross-border e-commerce will be one of the sectors that will first benefit from the initiative, as infrastructure development in transportation, IT and payment will encourage more trade online, facilitate transactions among countries.

The report, citing data from information services provider BMI, said other countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (excluding China) are expected to realize compound annual growth rate of 16 percent in online retail sales and reach $291 billion by 2020.

For China, consumer market will experience more opportunities and rising exports of mobile phone and accessories, ladies fashion and apparel are expected.

In the future, baby formula, health and beauty, sport and lifestyle items are expected to become increasingly popular among markets involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, the report said.