Top online favorites: food and massages

Source: Xinhua | 2019-01-08

Shanghai residents bought the most takeout through Alibaba’s on-demand delivery site ele.me and offline lifestyle service platform Koubei, new data shows.

Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou are the top three cities in terms of spending on delivered food, according to ele.me data.

On-demand delivery spending and offline expenditure through Koubei’s dining and payment service both surged over the past year.

Late night eateries also emerged as an important part of daily life, and Shanghai topped the list again in terms of total spending.

One Shanghai ele.me user placed 2,074 orders through the platform during the past year and the top spender bought 253,000 yuan (US$37,205) worth of delivery orders.

The average number of times Shanghai consumers visit pastry and desert stores was 1.8 times that of the national level over the past year, and Shanghai residents are also the most frequent visitors to Western-style restaurants.

Massaging money

Alibaba’s lifestyle service Koubei and ele.me connect with 3.5 million merchants in 676 cities around the country.

Beauty salons and leisure activities also picked up.

And Shanghai consumers’ spending on massages ranks second, following Wuhan.

Ordering fresh flowers and greenery are also popular among urban dwellers and office workers.

Shanghai’s female residents contributed 70 percent of delivery orders for greenery in the city.

Internet platforms and service providers are encouraging consumers to order from digital menus through smartphone apps, with the number of orders nearly quadrupling in the past six months.

Other delivery services such as over-the-counter drugs and fresh fruit and vegetables are also being adopted by an increasing number of consumers.