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Growing ranks of lazy consumers boost online sales and delivery services
By Ho Ai Li
13 August 2011
Manager Zhao Jun hardly ever goes out to buy anything.
If she wants lunch, she has it delivered. If her shampoo or conditioner runs out, she orders it online.
The 36-year-old spends about 5,000 yuan (S$950) a month on purchases over the Internet and returns about a fifth of the items, but she does not find it a hassle.
‘It’s even more troublesome to go out to buy stuff!’ she said.
Like Ms Zhao, many Chinese are too lazy to step out for even five minutes to buy a loaf of bread.
Instead, more are relying on deliveries of groceries and meals and outsourcing tasks like paying bills or collecting pills to professional errand boys.
The growing ranks of people who do not want to get off their bums to go shopping have created a so-called lanrenjingji, or economy of the lazy.
The phenomenon has helped online sales soar in China and has fuelled the rise of delivery services.
Online retail sales in China have doubled for three consecutive years to 513 billion yuan last year, backed by a strong population of 485 million Internet users. About a third of them are online shoppers.
Last year, online retail sales accounted for about 3 per cent of total retail sales in China.
The rise of e-commerce has helped to spur the growth of small and medium-sized logistics firms, said Professor Hong Tao of the Beijing Technology and Business University.
There are more than 700,000 of these courier and delivery companies in China now, including paotui (literally running legs) companies, which help to run errands for a fee, he added.
‘In the past, going to the store was seen as a kind of pleasure. But as the pace of life picks up in big cities, people want goods and services which they can get without having to go out,’ he said.
Traffic jams also make a trip to the mall a hassle these days, he noted.
It is no wonder then that even brick-and-mortar retail giants like America’s Walmart are vying for a slice of the Internet pie.
Not only does Walmart have its own online store in China, but it also signed a deal in May to buy a minority stake in Yihaodian (No. 1 Shop), an online store that offers everything from diapers to cameras.
The link-up will rival current Chinese Internet retail big boys such as Taobao and 360buy Jingdong Mall as well as start-ups which are looking to cash in on the economy of the lazy.
Mr Xu Anping, 34, for example, started what he called an online 7-Eleven plus butler service in February and focused on serving an affluent housing district of 10,000 people in Beijing.
Residents can order things such as soft drinks or instant noodles and have them sent to their homes within an hour.
‘If you can’t make it more convenient than going outside to buy something, the clients won’t use it,’ said Mr. Xu.
Customers can also order takeaway using the website, which has menus from restaurants in the area, or get people to help them send their laundry for washing.
Business has been so brisk that Mr. Xu has since expanded to two other districts, with plans to reach about 100 districts in Beijing.
These services are a boon to the likes of designer Michelle Lin, 26, who does not have a car and finds it a drag to lug home heavy boxes of detergent and such from the supermarket.
‘My fingers get numb carrying them,’ she said.
The economy of the lazy has provided more convenience for consumers while creating more jobs for deliverymen, creating a virtuous circle, said Prof Hong.
It is not unheard of for graduates to become couriers - hardworking ones can earn 5,000 to 6,000 yuan a month, which is comparable with the salary of office workers.
Mr. Wu Zhijian, 30, takes home about 6,000 yuan a month as the boss of a paotui business. He gets about 300 to 400 jobs each day, a lot more than the few he received each day when it was first set up in 2008.
‘They are afraid of wind and rain but they are not afraid of spending money,’ he said of his clients, noting that business gets better as the weather gets worse.
Indeed, summer has meant busier days for many a fast-food deliveryman.
In cities like Jinan in eastern Shandong province, for instance, orders have risen by about 20 per cent, as many people stay home to avoid the sun.
Other quick-thinking businesses are also offering delivery services to win more orders. Fruit sellers in Shaoyang city, in central Hunan province, send watermelons to the doorsteps of customers.
Demand for services for the lazy will grow as income levels rise and free time declines, said Mr. Xu.
These services will become as popular as the gym business, he predicted.
‘In the past, when people wanted to improve their fitness, they would just go running,’ said Mr. Xu.
‘It’s unimaginable that they’d pay to go and sweat in the gym. Now, people pay for the atmosphere and service.’