UPM Biofore Magazine 1-2019

Traditional shopping can be tedious and time-consuming in a hectic country plagued by traffic jams. With a growing percentage of Chinese people enjoying increased spending power, more and more people are doing their shopping online, which offers greater ease and convenience especially for busy urbanites. Geographical distance, too, is no longer a barrier. Easy-to-use mobile apps and payment systems have simplified and fuelled the growth of online shopping. Online retail – or “E-tail” - is not only embraced by young, tech-savvy millennials, but also older generations. The number of over 60s actively purchasing goods and services online is expected to exceed 255 million by 2020. Seamless future of shopping With e-commerce apps becoming more diverse and user-friendly, they are penetrating almost every aspect of peoples’ daily lives, especially through convergence with social media. Marketing, merchandising, customer service, and order delivery

are being bundled together as a seamless shopping experience.

Retail e-commerce sales, worldwide from 2014 to 2021 EUR (billion)

WithWeChat, a multipurpose social media mega-app with over one billion users, you can pay for your order at Starbucks and then browse online for new clothes while sipping your coffee. If something catches your eye, you can chat with the online shopping assistant for advice about the size, colour or any other features you would like to know more about. After placing the order, you can use the same app to order a taxi. During the ride home, you can pay your utilities bill. And, once you arrive, your newly ordered clothes might already be waiting for you – all this without ever leaving WeChat. The online and off-line worlds have become interconnected with the advent of “new retail”, a concept introduced by Jack Ma , co-founder of Alibaba. Instead of e-commerce competing with traditional brick-and- mortar stores, the two complement each other. For example, fresh food bought online is delivered to customers from a nearby physical grocery store or restaurant, clothes bought online can be returned to an

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Marketing, merchandising, customer service, and order delivery are being bundled together as a seamless shopping experience.

40 | UPM BIOFORE BEYOND FOSSILS