Several online retailers suspend delivery services

Ahead of the Spring Festival, some Chinese e-shopping enthusiasts are in a panic over the suspension of delivery services due to the national holiday.

Zhang Chi, a 26-year-old self-confessed "shopaholic", struggled with a stack of stuff she purchased online at Taobao, China's largest online retail site. Recently, the trunk and backseat of her Volkswagen Beetle have been full of express delivery packages and boxes.

"I felt really anxious when I heard that many store owners would suspend order acceptance, though only for two weeks," she said.

Zhang said she spent more than 3,000 yuan over the last five days buying stuff from Taobao. "I think I'm suffering from a sort of Taobao syndrome. When I'm browsing the web, I cannot help buying items because I always feel I need this or I'm lacking that."

Zhang bought three boxes of Fancy Deluxe Tense Up, a Japanese beauty drink she takes every day, as well as other cosmetic products, saying some particular items are only available on the site and the prices were reasonable.

"New clothes are at the top of my must-have list because I will visit my boyfriend's family and also attend many parties with friends during the Spring Festival. Clothes on Taobao are cheaper than department stores and some of them are made by independent designers."

Taobao stores stopped accepting orders or delivering goods at the beginning of this month. Some other online outlets kept going until four or five days before the festival. This has forced e-shoppers to stock up on everyday items before delivery service stops operating.

Online shoppers have a variety of different things they buy on the web.

Shu Ge, the 30-year-old mother of a five-month-old baby bought five cans of imported milk powder and 10 packages of baby diapers.

Li Xiuxiu, a pet lover, bought a big bag of Orijen dog food at her favorite online pet store.

A seller of ladies' garments on Taobao, who calls herself Ju Shi, said, "My store stopped sending goods to most regions in the country 10 days before Spring Festival."

Orders to her store have increased by about 20 percent as the festival drew near, but the increase would more or less be offset by the delivery suspension, she added.

New Year purchases on Taobao alone are expected to rise from 280 million yuan in 2009 to 1 billion yuan this year, but delivery remains a problem for the booming e-business.

"China's private express delivery companies lack a stable and sophisticated operating system," said Cao Fei, an analyst at domestic research firm Analysys International. "Delivery people come and go very frequently, especially when it comes to a big holiday."

"The turnover rate of employees in some companies reaches 50 percent because many delivery workers just work temporarily," Xu Yong, an industry expert was quoted by National Business Daily as saying.

Some individual sellers on Taobao have chosen to send goods via the State-owned EMS, which doesn't stop working during the holiday but charges nearly double compared with private express delivery companies.

S.F. Express, a big name in the delivery industry, said it would operate during the national holiday and will charge an additional 10 yuan per item. Another major player, Yuantong Express, said last month that it would be experimenting with nonstop operations this year.

Even though some delivery services will continue during the week-long holiday, some delays are to be expected, warned S.F. Express.

(China Daily 02/12/2010 page10)