SoYoung takes 'nip and tuck' online amid rapid growth of e-commerce

Users can also get a comprehensive evaluation of the doctor's education, experience and finally choose a doctor they like.

SoYoung has already teamed up with 1,600 hospitals, both domestic and overseas, from South Korea and Japan. Some of these are public hospitals and big medical institutions, but the majority are small-and medium-sized private hospitals.

"We persuade these hospitals to post the price lists for plastic surgery services and items on our website. If the hospital refuses to do so, we will not cooperate with them," Jin said.

There are also some requirements for the hospitals and clinics willing to participate in the platform, he said.

First of all, the plastic surgeon needs to have worked at the hospital for more than five years, and it should have an operating area of at least 300 to 500 square meters. In addition, they also have to give an undertaking that their medical products are purchased through legal channels.

At present, plastic surgery does not necessarily mean drastic operations on the face, including eyelids, nose, chin and breast enhancement. Most of it is "micro-plastic surgery"－a non-surgical technique with no pain, Jin explained, such as injection of hyaluronic acid for facelifts.

"SoYoung is like a Tmall in the plastic surgery market, and each hospital and clinic is the store on the platform," Jin said. Furthermore, the platform, whose potential users are aged at between 20 and 30, provides some special offers, including for hyaluronic acid injections, which accounts for 40 percent of the total orders.

SoYoung makes money from advertisement fees and the deposit money that customers pay for plastic surgery, which account for 5 to 10 percent of the total surgery cost. The deposit for non-surgical items, such as injections for whitening, face-lift and fat-dissolving will not be charged.

By the end of last year, SoYoung secured $20 million in its second round of funding from Trust Bridge Partners and Matrix Partners China.

"In the future, we hope to build up a peer-to-peer platform between doctors and consumers, shortening the industrial chain and connecting consumers with doctors directly," Jin said.

 

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