Insurance saleswoman Chai Hua gave up her job and embarked on a new career as a group-purchase manager in April, when Wuhan, the central Chinese city that was hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic, lifted its outbound restrictions after 76 days of lockdown.
The strict lockdown, which banned most outdoor activities at the height of the outbreak, has left a profound mark on the lifestyles of locals. Even when life returned to normal as the epidemic ebbed, the habits of ordering daily commodities through WeChat groups continued among many residents of Chai's community.
Chai's WeChat group has 315 members, most of whom live in the same neighborhood. She posts links of products on promotion every morning, and goods ordered will be delivered to Chai's warehouse, which was renovated from a garage, the next day.
The strong discounts Chai offers helped her obtained many loyal customers. In her group, potatoes are sold at 2 yuan per kg (around 30 U.S. cents) and 2 kg of shrimp can be purchased at 100 yuan, about half of the market prices.
The Yulanyuan community where Chai lives is close to two universities, and many residents are university staff and retired workers. "There are many elderly people with mobility restrictions in the community. Given that the supermarket is far away, purchasing vegetables here is my first choice," said Jin Tingzhi, a retired professor of Wuhan University of Technology.
Chai volunteered to help her community in group purchasing during the lockdown. After traffic restrictions were lifted, she decided to make it her full-time job.
"Many people still prefer to buy vegetables and fruits from me for health concerns after the lockdown, and I also want to spend more time with my 13-year-old son, so I decided to quit the job at the insurance company," she said.
"Though I make less than before, I enjoy my new job and have a strong sense of accomplishment," said Chai.
According to Dai Shanhui, CEO of Shixianghui, a group purchase platform Chai often uses, the platform now covers about 4,000 communities in Wuhan, a sharp increase from just 60 before the epidemic.
"Group purchasing has been more recognized after the COVID-19 outbreak for its convenience, cheaper prices and touchless delivery," said Dai. "We expect it to further grow this year."
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has cast a shadow on the global economy, has also given birth to new opportunities and business forms, with emerging occupations springing up one after another.
After a daily meeting at 9 a.m., Chen Hui led his team to visit a fruit store in Huangshi, a city close to Wuhan.
The 23-year-old is an online store planner, a new profession spurting amid the epidemic, as the citywide lockdown hampered the traditional offline trade between stores and customers and urged shops to go online to reach customers.
"We mainly set up online selling platforms for offline stores so they could expand their sales with online orders and attract more guests by issuing coupons," said Chen.
With the discount coupons designed by Chen's team, the turnover of a hot pot restaurant in Huangshi increased by 40 percent year on year on the day of the traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival.
In the past few months, Chen nearly visited all the brick and mortar stores in Huangshi, among which over 300 stores, including hotels, restaurants and groceries, have been digitally upgraded at the guidance of his team.
Zhang Chenggang, an associate professor at the Capital University of Economics and Business, said that the number of people engaged in new professions such as online shop planners and digitalization service providers is expected to reach 100 million by 2020 in China.
"There are 40 million offline stores in China. I think they will gradually transform their sales channels to cover both online and offline customers," said Chen.
According to Zhang, online platforms can empower workers with more productivity and better services. "They will also drive the emergence of even more novel professions such as AI trainers in the future," Zhang added.
