'Double 12' boost for retailers

Offline merchants and online platforms are seeing fruitful results during the so-called "Double 12" shopping gala, which is seen as a follow-up to last month’s record-breaking Singles Day but focuses more on small and medium-sized enterprises. 

Alibaba's lifestyle services platform Koubei said transactions over the 24-hour period more than doubled from last year, while payment for leisure activities such as spa coupons and entertainment activities added 54 percent. Spending on gym passes climbed 73 percent. 

Koubei said supermarket chains such as Carrefour, Yonghui and Metro enjoyed an average growth of more than 1.4 times while smaller merchants were gaining more new members than usual.

Discounts were offered on the Koubei site by food and beverage chains such as Starbucks, Pizza Hut and Dicos. 

It's also leveraging its Internet of Things solutions to help canteens target consumers and raise efficiency. 

Japanese-style Onsen and Spa operator Okurakuyu is using a swift check-in system at its reception desk using Koubei’s facial recognition technology so spa customers can enjoy other facilities and leisure activities more conveniently, the company said.

Xin Bai Lu, a Hangzhou-style restaurant chain, has put into use two cooking machines and an order tracking system at its new store at the Shiboyuan Shopping Mall so kitchen staff can follow a simple working procedure from the electronic monitoring system instead of handwritten orders on paper. 

Chairman Zhou Wenyuan said the digital procedure has helped reduce kitchen staff by 10 and the integrated system also allows him to better assess business operations across 33 canteens throughout the country. 

Internet players are hoping their online retailing and logistics facilities will lay the foundation for offline merchants to embrace new retail and upgrade their offerings to customers. 

JD's logistics affiliate JD Daojia said sales during December 6 and December 12 added 1.2 times from the same period a year earlier through tie-ups with retailers and supermarkets to offer discounts. 

Personal care, maternity products and home electronics have seen transactions more than triple in size over the same period last year and other best-selling items included fresh food and dairy products.  

Online shopping rebates site Fanli.com said the orders on its platform were 21 times more than usual with top spending shoppers in Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, and clothing, electronics, food and beverage among the best-selling categories.