Many Shanghai residents have described waking up as early as 5am to snag delivery appointments from online grocers like Freshippo, only to find they sell out in seconds
Many Shanghai residents have described waking up as early as 5am to snag delivery appointments from online grocers like Freshippo, only to find they sell out in seconds
Alibaba’s supermarket chain Freshippo said Sunday it was adding more couriers to meet high demand in Shanghai, but that has yet to catch up with the surging needs of locked-in residents as the city grapples with a surge in COVID-19 outbreaks. cases to fight.
Shen Li, a vice president of Alibaba Group’s Freshippo, told reporters on Sunday that while the company’s delivery capacity has recovered to about 60-70% of pre-outbreak levels as more couriers are allowed back on the streets, many difficulties remain stayed.
“The biggest challenge we face now is that demand and the number of orders from consumers have increased about two to three times compared to pre-outbreak levels,” she said.
China’s main economic hub has placed most of its 25 million people under lockdown for more than three weeks in a bid to contain the country’s biggest outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.
After most supermarkets and shops across the city closed, residents resorted to online purchases to get groceries and other essentials, but have struggled. Shanghai authorities have said they are trying to address these bottlenecks, but this remains a key public frustration.
Many residents have described waking up as early as 5am trying to book delivery dates for online groceries like Freshippo, only to find they sell out in seconds. While Freshippo and other vendors have implemented bulk buying programs, some people have complained about their inability to reach the quantities needed to guarantee orders.
Ms Shen said Freshippo opened 47 stores in Shanghai for online delivery on Sunday and set up six additional ad hoc warehouses for the city due to inter-provincial supply chain issues.
About 5,000 employees worked in those stores and warehouses, while another 1,000 worked online from home, she added.
