Medical spending in China is increasing every year, and people have started to buy medicine online, with nearly 3 million people buying medicine through mobile apps, among which the largest one is Yiyaowang–the”No.1 pharmacy.” Set up by Yu Gang and his partner, the founder of China’s first large online supermarket, Yihaodian, Yiyaowang is also a key part of a healthcare ecosystem that combines an online hospital, a drugstore and patients. Yu, an experienced businessman and a scholar, tells how he built the ecosystem, how it simplifies the medical process and gives patients access to cheaper drugs.
China Roundup: Alibaba’s Youku Tudou Stake and China, the World’s Largest Economy?
The week that was: China may trump the US to become the world’s largest economy soon; the Chinese P2P lending sector to get new regulations; Xiaomi shells out a cool $3.6 million for a two-word domain name. China to be the World’s Largest Economy Soon For the last decade pundits have been prophesizing that China is […]
China Round-up: China’s Exports Rise as do M&As, and Alibaba Invests in Haier
The week that was: China’s exports do better than expected, local officials get new evaluation criteria, and e-commerce giant Alibaba invests in white goods major Haier. Export and retail numbers beat expectations China’s exports in November surprised analysts again—the 12.7% year-on-year increase tops a Reuters’ poll of a 7.1% rise and more than doubles October’s […]
The e-Grocery Gold Rush
China’s e-commerce companies are suddenly stocking up on groceries. Buying groceries in Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai is a nightmare for many office-goers. After a long day at work, shoppers head to overcrowded supermarkets just to find noise, confusion and impossibly long queues at the payment counter. And it doesn’t end there: they also […]
Digital Promised Land: Retailers Look to E-Commerce to Succeed in China
Can Western retail brands make it big in China’s e-market? In September 2012, The Home Depot announced that it was closing all seven of its megastores in China. After eight years of consumer research and a $100-million 12-store acquisition, The Home Depot called it quits in China after realizing that China isn’t a sure return […]
Social Commerce in China Goes Beyond Sharing
Dabbling in social commerce might help Chinese e-commerce companies deal with fickle consumers and heightened competition. 11th November 2012 marked a watershed moment in the history of e-commerce in China. The date marks Singles’ Day or Guanggun Jie, a curious festival that came up to celebrate bachelorhood. Whatever its origins, today Singles’ Day has become […]
Yihaodian Chairman Gang Yu on Crafting a Sophisticated e-Commerce Strategy
Some time in the middle of last year, subway commuters in Beijing and Shanghai stumbled across an interesting experiment–the walls of select stations had been turned into virtual supermarkets by Yihaodian, a Chinese online supermarket. All a commuter had to do was scan the QR codes of whatever he needed on the ‘virtual supermarket aisles’ […]
Yihaodian Chairman Gang Yu on e-Commerce in China
At last count, China had nearly 538 million internet users–a number that is growing everyday. Out of these 538 million, 194 million have shopped online. And this number is also growing everyday. As a result, e-commerce is one of the hottest sectors in China right now. The Chinese customer is demanding–and unforgiving–and competition between players […]
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