Lower-tier cities splash out online during Chinese New Year

Lower-tier cities saw the biggest growth in terms of sales volume of on-demand delivery services during the Chinese New Year,  as consumers from inland regions also embraced booming new consumption channels, according to Alibaba's local lifestyle services platform Koubei and Eleme.

Eight out of the top 10 places in terms of growth pace for delivery orders during the Chinese New Year were taken by third-tier cities, Eleme data showed.

Baoding, Langfang and Yancheng were the top three cities for the number of delivery orders, while Shantou, Dongguan, Foshan and Hefei were also amongst the fastest growing.

About 4,000 deliveries were sent on Chinese New Year's Eve to each of the following places where people have given up their family reunion time, such as police stations, fire fighting departments and sanitation bureaus, and hundreds of thousands of delivery staff have also been busy delivering consumers' takeaway orders during the weeklong holiday.

Delivery orders nowadays not only included meals and beverages, but also groceries and flowers as consumers embraced new consumption options.

Preschool education institutions and childhood learning spaces also gained traction, with sales volume climbing 60 percent from the same period a year ago.

Consumers' favoring of sports activities was also diversifying, with spending at skiing stadiums, ping pong houses and swimming pools all rising 30 percent from a year ago. Expenditure at yoga houses was the fastest growing segment, rising by more than 4 times.