http://www.bjreview.com MARCH 12, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 35
Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey
Comments to [email protected]BUSINESS
to CIConsulting, a Shenzhen-based consult-
ing company.
Online medical platforms are only part of
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prevention and control period. Services such
as checking flights with infected people
and reporting health conditions have also
boomed. According to the fintech firm Ant
Financial, over 100 cities in China used the
health QR codes of its mobile app Alipay
from February 12 to 19. With the QR codes,
patients no longer need medical treatment
cards when going to hospitals and healthy
people can pass checkpoints without fill-
ing in paper health reports, which reduces
face-to-face contacts and improves work
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Seeking innovation
While emerging industries are enjoying new
opportunities in this special period, tradi-
tional industries are seeking ways out by
expanding online services and adopting new
technologies, through which many offline
businesses have revived their sluggish sales
growth.
Since selling goods through livestreams
has become popular, many offline outlets
have followed the trend to attract potential
consumers. Although the epidemic out-
break brought the sales of Shanghai-based
cosmetics brand Forest Cabin down by 90
percent in six days in late January, the brand
has reemerged through livestreaming on
Taobao, Alibaba’s online marketplace. On
February 15, its sales turned 45 percent
higher than the amount in the same period
last year.
Farmers are also taking advantage of
livestreaming to promote local agricultural
products. As Wang Xirong, a farmer in Dandong,
Liaoning Province in northeast China, found it
hard to sell her strawberries this year, she has
turned to livestreaming to boost sales online.
“Consumers can see the strawberries in the
greenhouse and place orders anytime. The sales
volume of my Taobao store in one single day
can reach as high as 18,000 kg,” she told China
News Service. To support farmers, e-commerce
platforms such as Taobao and Pinduoduo have
improved logistics to transport fresh products,
with local governments also lending a helping
hand.
Empowered by VR technologies and
livestreaming, traditional industries such as
furniture, car and real estate are also doing
online promotions as offline sales cool down.
Easyhome, a domestic home improvement
chain, is one of those resuming business
through livestreaming on Taobao. From
February 6 to 8, a total of 136 outlets under
the brand conducted over 1,000 livestreams,
attracting nearly 700,000 viewers and receiving
over 40 million yuan ($5.7 million) in orders.
Home buyers and renters can now view
the interior of buildings without traveling
around. Data from 58.com and housing in-
formation platform Anjuke.com shows that
the proportion of online VR house visitors
went up by 57.7 percent month on month
in January. Tang Lin, a real estate agent in
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region insouth China, told China Securities Journal
that his livestreams of houses attract around
60,000 viewers every time. This new, more
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long-term trend in the real estate industry.
According to a report released by mar-
ket consultancy iiMedia Research last year,
China’s livestream users may reach 524 million
by 2020. As consumers’ demands upgrade,
the market players need to provide targeted
services in niche sectors and turn to new tech-
nologies such as 5G to improve effects and
attract viewers.Turning crises into chances
The special demands during the epidemic
outbreak have boosted online industries and
equipped traditional businesses with digital
wings. However, whether the industries can
achieve sustainable growth and weather the
difficulties remains a concern. For online
market players such as fresh food retailers
and remote work platforms, retaining users
can be a problem after the epidemic ends.
Cui Lili, Executive Director of the Institute
of E-Commerce at the Shanghai University
of Finance and Economics, stressed that the
focus should be on the long-term benefits.
“Although platforms such as fresh food re-
tailers may lose some customers after the
epidemic, they can still take the opportunity
to expand the consumer base and sharpen
their competitive edge,” she told Beijing
Review.
Generated in the special period, some
new demands may last and create more
opportunities for domestic enterprises.
Consumers are currently focused on health,
green products and remote services, which
has resulted in more health-related sup-
plies and further application of artificial
intelligence, Wang Jianming, a professor
with the Zhejiang University of Finance and
Economics, told Economic Daily.
According to Wang, China’s consumption
structure has improved due to the changes
in demand. “Consumption of entertainment
services and products for personal pleasure
has declined, while the spending on educa-
tion, telecommunication and healthcare has
increased,” he said.
The emerging new demands suggest
that the potential of China’s consumer
market remains to be further explored
and rebounds can be expected after of-
fline consumption gradually resumes, Fan
Rizhao, a researcher with Pinduoduo, told
Economic Daily. QA medical staff checks the health QR code of a textile company worker in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province in east China,
on February 20
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