E-commerce flower market booms in China
BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese flower e-commerce business flourished thanks to consumers' rising demand for life-enriching experiences and the upgrade of logistics, China Daily reported.
November, usually a dull period for florists in China, now tends to be a peak season because of the Singles' Day online shopping spree on Nov. 11.
Shuyang County, one of the country's biggest flower bases, in Jiangsu Province, saw over 7,000 online flower shops launching sales promotions on Nov. 11 in one of its towns, said the newspaper.
Xingfu Huahai, a florist in Shuyang, reaped more than 10 million yuan (about 1.44 million U.S. dollars) in sales, after introducing over 150 fresh flower varieties from Japan, Singapore and the Republic of Korea, according to the local government's online statement.
Chinese consumers used to buy fresh flowers as gifts during festivals, but more people tend to see flower purchase as part of daily consumption, according to a report from the consulting company iResearch.
The 11-11 sales of online flower business exploded as Chinese consumers are willing to spend more on life-enriching and happiness-producing experiences, China Daily quoted the telecom industry expert Wang Guanxiong as saying.
The new industry trend, however, posted a challenge to the entire supply chain, Wang said.
The flower e-commerce business requires high-quality and speedy logistics, so any compromise in the supply chain wound influence the business, said Sun Honglei, a franchisee of Chinese leading logistics company ZTO express.
ZTO express has forged alliance with flower bases like Shuyang so that people could keep an eye on every part of the supply chain, said Sun.