Online shopping madness is the hottest in China

During the height From the epidemic, a Unique Online shopping has become one of the most important trends in the technology industry in China. The name “Buy a community group“Consumers were allowed to save money on everything from apples to iPhone by submitting wholesale orders with their friends and family. This model, which was like a Groupon meeting with InstaCart, has proven that it is especially popular for groceries. But now, the community’s community purchase platforms in China disappear one by one.

Late last month, Meituan, the Chinese Food Delivery Giant, announced that it was suddenly closed Buy a grocery group Operations in all provinces except for four provinces, many customers and even suppliers are surprised.

In March, the arm of the grocery group was closed in Alibaba, TAOCAICAI, too. Xingsheng Youxuan, the company that started industry in the country, is now only in three provinces, a decrease from 18 years. Today, today, PinguodeoChinese sister company sinceIt is the only home platform that still offers a grocery group throughout the country.

The sale of groceries is not a work of high margins, and the cost of charging something small like a few potatoes may not have a financial meaning for a technical company. However, the promise to purchase the group was to collect orders by dozens and deliver them to one place may be profitable enough.

The industry began to be formed in late 2010, but it really slept when the Covid-19 gate succeeded. When the Chinese cities entered into intermittent clips for three years, going to a grocery store was often impossible, and technology companies took the opportunity to digitize and fill more daily activities. While families in the largest and most advanced cities can bear that grocery stores are delivered directly to their homes, they found people in the least developed areas alternative to buying groceries in groups.

At the beginning of the twenties of the twentieth century, the purchase of a community group was seen as an innovative solution to the challenges of delivering the last tendency associated with grocery delivery. But with the end of the epidemic clips, Chinese companies, including Meituan, continued to expand their dense networks from the pursuit, and they began to provide delivery in less than 30 minutes, eliminating the need for people to meet with their neighbors to buy a group.

“Now, immediate retail also reach the lower -level cities, so that people can also” we have arrived at a time when it is almost an old model. “

On the day Meituan closed most group purchase services, she also issued a statement saying that it would expand instant delivery. Meituan did not respond to a request from Wire.

Side vehicles

One of the most interesting aspects of the collective purchase model is that it depends on thousands of leaders of the contract community. The name Tuanzhang– A playful development on the Chinese term for the military title “The Commander of the Regiment” – These people often have deep connections to local communities and are recruited by platforms to promote their services and collect the grocery orders in bulk.

In exchange for sales committees, community leaders classify grocery orders, then either hand them directly to their neighbors or wait at home until people take them. Most community leaders are either small retail store or mothers at home and retirees who have time to get a side disturb.