Platforms promise further support for small businesses
Major digital platforms vow further supportive measures following central and local government pledges to revitalize street vendors and small mom-and-pop stores which are vital for economic recovery.
Premier Li Keqiang called on more supportive measures for independent vendors and small businesses eager to make up for income losses during a visit to Yantai in Shandong Province earlier this week.
Ensuring that businesses and the self-employed can survive and thrive is also crucial for job creation and stabilizing economic development.
AliPay said more than 260,000 micro businesses in Shanghai reported year-over-year increases of combined sales in April and May, suggesting a gradual return in business vitality.
In May delivery orders of small businesses and individual vendors were around 90 percent of the same period a year ago, as many turned to online formats to reboot business.
New merchants on Ele.me include vendors of beverages and personal-care items.
Liu Dongjie who sells soya drinks and dim sum during breakfast hours from a small shop on Wanping Road S. said although dine-in spending is only 40 percent of normal levels, delivery orders have returned to the same level as a year earlier.
The store now has six employees. "Delivery business allows a small shop like this to generate more revenue than only offering dine-in service," he said.
Lifestyle services site Meituan Dianping said those who open new digital storefronts will be eligible for one month of interest-free loans.
It expects the scheme to cover some one million merchants nationwide and to help cash-tight individuals start new businesses.
Tencent's WeChat payment unveiled an integrated subsidy and business training solution for some 50 million small and micro businesses which use its service to collect user payments.
It's also offering customer management modules for merchants using WeChat's payment tools to help them better target customers and increase foot traffic, in addition to commission waiving and other digital incentives.
