Price hikes ahead of Singles Day
Print Edition
TWO major Chinese courier companies announced price rises on Tuesday and yesterday ahead of November 11, which is expected to be China’s largest ever online shopping festival.
Better services, according to ZTO Express and Yunda Express, mean rising costs in labor, materials and transport, but neither company was prepared to say by how much prices would rise. Other domestic couriers are expected to follow suit.
Wang Chao, a deliveryman with ZTO Express, said he usually works 11 or 12 hours a day. “I hear that it is just a slight rise and won’t make a big difference, but we will earn a little more,” he said.
China Express Association predicts that the industry will handle more than 1 billion packages between November 11-16.
November 11 is “Singles Day,” allegedly started by some college students in the 1990s to celebrate — or poke fun at — their unattached status. November 11 was chosen for the four solitary digits: 11-11.
It has grown into a Chinese version of Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States, and promoted as an online shopping day.
Alibaba began Singles Day campaigning in 2009. TMall, Alibaba’s online marketplace, made only 50 million yuan (US$7.6 million) back then. Last year, the figure reached 120 billion yuan.
On the back of the e-commerce boom, China’s courier sector has been the world’s largest by delivery volume for three years but continual expansion has put heavy pressure on services, leading to problems in delivery delays and driver safety.
Lai Yang, a researcher in logistics, attributed the price rises to a shortage of labor.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
