BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- China Chain Operation Association and Deloitte recently organized a teleconference to share with global retailers China's practices and experience in maintaining supply, protecting employees and expanding supply chain after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Zhu Xi, general manager of Wushang Supermarket Co., Ltd., introduced the countermeasures taken by Wushang during the lockdown period in Wuhan, the epicenter in China.
Facing initial panic caused by the lockdown and citizens' panic hoarding, Wushang Supermarket launched targeted measures at each stage to ensure market supply, said Zhu Xi, adding that his supermarket has limited the number of consumers and the consumption time, and then taken advantage of community purchase and neighborhoods delivery service.
As an omni-channel retail platform with more than 1,000 stores, Wumart did not shut down any stores during the epidemic and no employees got infected. A senior executive of Wumart said the company's operation model integrating online and offline selling has played an important role. Customers place orders online and then the company delivers the goods to the customer, which effectively reduces residents' travel and gathering. Wumart has also set up "pick-up stations" in more than 3,000 communities in Beijing to meet residents' daily needs.
According to Wumart, retailers must focus on the rapidly changing needs of consumers at different stages of the epidemic. Wumart relies on big data support to timely adjust the category of commodities and the inventory of the distribution centers based on the change of consumer demand.
Zhang Tianbing, Deloitte Asia-Pacific consumer products and retail industry leader, also told global retailers that Chinese consumers' online consumption habits have been well developed and maintained a good relationship with retailers on social media, and the unique business models such as community purchase during the epidemic have played an important role in ensuring supply.
The pandemic has forced consumers in Europe and the United States to stay at home, who were used to buying stuff in physical stores. This change presents an opportunity for these consumers to develop digital lifestyles and ways of spending. Retailers in other countries of the world shall pay most attention to building of online platform and learn how to make good use of social media and big data analysis of consumers in the next stage of the pandemic, Deloitte added. (Edited by Bao Nuomin, with Xinhua Silk Road, baonuomin@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
