In the weekly column we take turns writing about innovation and economic trends in Asia.
(Photo: Klawe Rzeczy)
Beijing The lockdown-plagued Shanghainese are impressively demonstrating what “necessity is the mother of invention” means in the digital age. Many of the 25 million inhabitants have been stuck in their homes for more than four weeks because China’s government considers curfews to be the most effective remedy against Corona.
Since the otherwise ubiquitous drivers of delivery platforms such as Meituan, JD.com and Eleme are also affected by the government-mandated forced quarantine, many people are gradually running out of groceries. Business people in Shanghai in particular were used to having dinner, groceries from the supermarket or other online purchases delivered to their front door or office with just a few clicks in the shortest possible time.
But the supply chains tore with the lockdown overnight.
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In this existential supply crisis, the Shanghainese show impressively why they are considered to be particularly enterprising and imaginative. The residents of entire blocks of flats use the super app Wechat to organize group shopping.
Delivery apps lack drivers – Shanghainese help each other
Unlike during the lockdowns after the first outbreak of the 2020 coronavirus in Wuhan, group shopping platforms from Pinduoduo, Alibaba, JD.com and Meituan hardly play a role. They simply lack the employees and drivers.
The industry’s great hopes for growth have not been fulfilled. Meituan even announced on Wednesday that it would no longer offer group purchases in Beijing – it’s not worth it.
Instead, informal group buying is thriving in Shanghai. The organization is carried out by volunteers from the respective housing unit, the so-called Tuanzhang, in English: commanders. The state newspaper Global Times recognized the volunteers as “heroes of the neighborhood”. Via Wechat they collect and coordinate the orders in different groups: Eggs group, Vegetables group, Ikea Meatballs group. They order directly from the farmer or wholesaler, organize transport by truck and look for other volunteers from the block of flats for delivery to the front door.
If you want to order something, you have to be quick. Because the residential complexes are huge, the goods are often sold out within minutes. Some group leaders therefore hold back extra contingents for seniors in the neighborhood, whose needs are queried by telephone.
A call for help from Kathy Xu, probably China’s best-known venture capital investor, showed that almost every Shanghai resident is suffering from the supply bottlenecks. At the beginning of the lockdown, the prominent investor, who was involved in JD.com, among other things, asked to be included in a Wechat group for a bulk purchase – she lacked bread and milk.
The Shanghainese share their group buying experiences on social media: A neighborhood group ordered a ton of melons in 220 boxes. Another had a live goat delivered to her.
However, according to one user, no one knows how to slaughter the animal. So now live it in the green belt of the condominium.
More: From lockdown to lockdown – How China’s Covid strategy is wearing down the country