In Episode 58 of Tech Buzz China, our first episode of the new decade, co-hosts Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu talk about grocery e-commerce, or buying fresh food over the internet. The sector, which in China is sometimes taken to include “New Retail” concepts such as Alibaba’s Hema, is seen as one of the few remaining “blue ocean” e-commerce opportunities in China. Thus, it is super fast growing and attracting a lot of investment and interest. 

Listen to find out: Given the amount of action in the industry, why is the penetration rate still at less than 5 percent? What main challenges within the industry have made it difficult for the various players to scale up? Within the current landscape, what are the differences between purely online services, versus hybrid online-offline, and what have been the growth patterns for both? Finally and perhaps most importantly, what daily habits and cultural factors surrounding grocery shopping in China form the foundation for these realities today… and into the future? 

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We are grateful for our producers, Caiwei Chen and Kaiser Kuo. A big thank you to the talented Shaw Wan for her support to-date. We wish you the very best in your next role!