China's Supermarkets on a Smart Phone

A Chinese online store is now using smartphone technology to allow people to shop for their groceries over the internet.

CRI's He Fei has more on the future of online shopping here in China.

 
In Shanghai's underground metro¹ stations, posters of supermarket shelves adorn² the walls.

Busy commuters waiting for their trains can quickly scan³ these virtual⁴ shelves using their smart phones, order goods, and expect to find their orders delivered to their doorstep by the time they return home.

Even older Chinese consumers are adopting this revolutionary new way of shopping.

Ms. Zao, from Shanghai's Pudong district, is accepting delivery of her weekly groceries - ordered by her daughter earlier that day from a nearby metro station.

Living on the fourth floor of an apartment block without lifts, she welcomes the new method which delivers the shopping to her doorstep.

"We bought drinks, canned food and water today. My daughter bought them online with her phone and then they delivered them here. This is very convenient for me. She often shops there".

The concept was adapted to meet the needs of the Chinese market by Yihaodian.com, a young online store which borrowed the idea from the trials of virtual supermarkets conducted by Tesco in neighboring and technology-savvy South Korea.

Users first download unique software from the company's site. The application allows shoppers to scan the barcodes of products with the phone's camera and then directly place an order with just a few touches of their phone's screen. Payment can be made using credit card or by cash upon arrival.

According to iResearch's latest report, in the second quarter of 2011, the volume of sales through cell phones quadrupled from the previous year's level.

Philip Zhang, the Chief Marketing⁶ Officer, says the average mobile shopper⁵ in China would be a 24 year-old recent graduate, most probably male.

"Smart phone users are often quite young, they grew up with mobile phones, and many owned them in middle school. They are very used to working on mobile phones, and this includes shopping."

Down in the subways users have mixed reactions.

Shanghai resident Lian Jianhao says that he favours the convenience of mobile e-commerce, but he would like to see customer service and security improved before he decides to go for it.

"I am in favour of mobile e-commerce because now we are often too busy to do chores around the house, it is time consuming and isn't convenient. But with mobile e-commerce, customer service is very important. It needs to provide security to the consumers."

The company is optimistic about the market. Its next plan is to roll out these virtual supermarkets at bus stops and other smaller cities across the country.

For CRI, I'm He Fei.

1 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

2 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

3 scan   

n.审视，浏览，扫描，押韵，细查；vt.细看，浏览，扫描，详细调查，信件扫描（指BBS处理直递邮件或会议邮件时，对所有或特定信区做检查的动作）

参考例句：

• The first scan was bad, so I had to do it again.第一次扫描不好，所以我得重做。
• A scan determines the position of the baby in the womb.扫描可以确定胎儿在子宮中的位置。

4 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

5 shopper   

n.购物者，顾客

参考例句：

• Hong Kong is a shopper's paradise.香港是购物者的天堂。
• She is one shopper who takes responsibility in bagging her own goods.她是一名承担责任把食品装进袋子的顾客。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。