Startup takes steps to boost digital economy

Shanghai-based Aikucun is taking special measures to support the city’s digital economy during the pandemic, the e-commerce startup said on Wednesday.

It is offering discounted products from over 10,000 brands to more than 1.5 million users as “personal shoppers." They can earn commission through selling the products on social media, it said.

In major categories such as women’s clothing and maternity products, brands on Aikucun directly supply products, delivery and after-sales services.

“Aikucun’s unique business model is an innovation of Shanghai’s new economy to boost consumption and jobs,” President Leng Jing said.

Aikucun’s measures include supporting exporters, exempting certification and guarantee fees, reduction of operation and warehouse fees and quick cash back as 80 percent within seven days after the sales, the company said.

Aikucun is one of the local firms supporting the city’s strategy to develop its digital economy and its two-month Double Five shopping festival to boost consumption.

Aikucun, which raised US$110 million in its latest round of finance in 2018, has about 1,500 staff, increasing to about 2,000 by the end of this year with business expansion plans.