New hope of e-commerce: Rural

Rural areas have always been the oldest and most primitive mode of production, and E-commerce is currently driving China's economic growth of the new engine. In recent years, the new engine has repeatedly beaten the traditional industrial organization of the countryside, this year is the big electric manufacturers brush on the rural walls of large slogans to the whole thing to the climax.


 


this year just past the electric dealer "Double 11" is still enough to take the attention of people, in addition to the days of the cat no accident to the new high turnover of 57.1 billion yuan, Beijing-east, Suning, Amazon, when the company is also pouring. These scenes and the fields above the ancient and original is completely two pictures, incompatible, but the two have clearly met. The hope of the field can carry E-commerce what kind of dream? And in the promotion of E-commerce can give this field what kind of vitality?


 


Blue Ocean: New Hope of e-commerce


 

According to the data released by
, 2013 China's online shopping market transaction size reached 1.85 trillion yuan, an increase of 42%, compared with 2012 66.1%, the growth rate has fallen. In the next few years, this growth will further decline, E-commerce has already said goodbye to the annual close doubling of high-speed growth, Taobao, Jingdong and other core enterprises are still rapid development, but more and more feel the pressure of growth.


 


the past 10 years is the development of E-commerce, many enterprises have a lot of low-cost flow, can be very low cost to obtain a large number of new users, even the annual user's contribution to the unit value has not been upgraded, that is, will lose a lot of old users, As long as the company's new user growth rate beyond the old user's loss rate and the average level of the industry, then the company's market share will continue to increase, there will also be a good performance, so La Nieu is the era of a more important proposition. But now it's all quietly changing, according to China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) published in January 2014, "China's Internet Development Status Statistics Report" shows: As of December 2013, China's Internet users up to 618 million, internet penetration rate of 45.8%, more than 2012 3.7% at the end of the year. The overall growth of Internet users to maintain a slowdown in the trend, from 2007 to 53% to 2013 9.5%, the future growth will gradually close to natural growth, which indicates that the Internet "demographic dividend" era of the basic end.


 


In the past, more and more ordinary consumers converted to the Internet to promote the rapid development of E-commerce, on the other hand, the electric business enterprise also unceasingly will line the category from the book, the 3C household appliances, the cosmetics, the clothing shoes and hats expands to the daily necessities, the fresh, the life service and so on, the electronic commerce boundary is continuously to break through, This has further led to explosive growth in the size of the industry. Today we have been able to buy most of the daily needs from the Internet, books, 3C home appliances, cosmetics and clothing and hats and other core categories of online shopping penetration rate has exceeded 20%, and some even up to 30%-40%, while their online growth has begun to slow down significantly. Taobao, Beijing-east and other comprehensive electric platform has also been operating the category expansion to almost all-encompassing, simply rely on category expansion to continue the possibility of high-speed growth is getting smaller.


 


Although we are now going to talk about the one or two-line city has been approaching saturation is still too early, however, whether from the user expansion or category expansion of the angle, e-commerce in the one or two-line cities will gradually trend towards a steady growth, how to tap the value of old users will be more important than pull new, fine operation will be more important than the category of expansion. And E-commerce also urgently needs to find a new development engine, continue to grow rapidly.


 


in fact, the notion that the "demographic dividend" era is basically over may not be accurate. As we all know, as a result of the economic policy of "farming workers" and "taking rural cities" for a long time, it has led to the widespread existence of dual economic structure in urban and rural areas, which has become a major factor hindering the development of market economy, resulting in a further widening of the gap between urban and rural Vigorously developing rural economy and improving the state of dual economic structure of urban and rural areas have been vigorously pursued by the state in recent years. Under the guidance of the national policy, the rural economy has been developed rapidly, the farmer's life gradually improved, and rural as the next Internet "demographic dividend" the value of the source began to highlight.


 


According to the statistics published by the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2013, China's rural population of 630 million, the proportion of the total population of 46.3%. In recent years, with the advancement of the urbanization process, the proportion of rural population in the total population of our country continues to decline, but the proportion of rural Internet users in the overall netizen keeps rising, and the rural area has become an important driving force for the growth of netizens in China at present. According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released figures, as of December 2013, China's rural population accounted for only 28.6%, the scale of 177 million, compared with 2012 growth of 21.01 million people. However, the internet penetration rate of rural residents in China is only 27.5%, compared with 62% of urban residents, but it also indicates a huge space for future growth.


 


the gradual popularization of the Internet and the increase in the number of rural Internet users increased the potential of rural electricity market, in fact, as early as a few years ago, smart Taobao has begun to expand in rural areas. Not only the rural consumption is gradually increasing, farmers shop has also begun to become a unique landscape, Taobao County began to rise, which is the most well-known Suichang mode. Taobao's rural consumption has risen in the past three years, from 7.11% in the second quarter of 2012 to 9.11% in the first quarter of 2014, but the proportion is still very low, according to the Ali Institute. It is expected that the rural market will reach more than 180 billion in 2014, 2016 will break through 460 billion, and continue to narrow the gap between the size of the urban shopping Network. While the consumption of rural electric power is increasing, small production in rural areas also gradually with a larger market to achieve docking, also from the Ali Institute of Digital Display, in 2013 only in Taobao and cat platform, from the county issued a package of about 1.4 billion pieces, Alibaba platform agricultural sales reached 50 billion yuan, 2014 is expected to reach 100 billion yuan.


 


in view of the great potential of the rural market, this year, in the central document of January, the first proposed to "strengthen the construction of E-commerce platform for agricultural products", laying the policy basis for the development of rural electricity dealers. It can be said that whether it is a policy-oriented, or market trends, the electrical business in the countryside is the trend.


 


countryside has become another battlefield of the e-commerce.


 


to the countryside: Welcome to a new war


 


Rural Market, if the past few years is the electric business enterprise intentionally or unintentionally knife, then starting this year is a formal arms race.


 


as early as 5 years ago, the rural area has been in the view of Alibaba, but at that time no matter is Taobao "characteristics of China" project, or as a typical effort to promote the "Amoy Bao", "Taobao County", or has successfully held a number of sessions of the "Electric Business workshop" More just want to bring rural products to the Internet , so that small production to achieve the docking with the big market, Sha, Suichang, Yiwu and so on are the typical mode, but also only as a case, and did not show the spark prairie, the reason is that E-commerce is not strong enough, more importantly, most of the countryside is not ready.


 


This September, Alibaba successfully landed on the New York Stock Exchange, raising more than 20 billion dollars to become the world's second-largest internet company after Google. In the United States soon after the listing, Alibaba is clear that the agricultural electricity dealers, large data services and Cross-border electricity service will become Ali Group's three future development direction, this is Alibaba for the first time to upgrade the agricultural power to the group's strategic level, but also let small production butt big market at the same time, began to dig rural electricity business consumption exploration. After the double 11 this year, Alibaba CEO Lu is clear: China currently has 600 million people living in rural areas, if they have a good internet connection, fully capable of recreating a Taobao, or even another Ali.


 


in order to promote the important strategy of the agriculture-related electric dealers well, Alibaba and several subsidiaries have set up a special department responsible for the agricultural sector, from the smooth implementation of the organizational guarantee strategy. Rural wall advertising, home appliances to the countryside and caravans, such as a series of marketing activities are launched Alibaba to capture the prologue of the rural market, and "arable land treasure" and other agricultural financial products launched also shows its use of internet finance model to develop agricultural market ideas.


 


Taobao is dependent on the ant Xiong type of small sellers and individual sellers, the use of market-based operating mechanisms to develop, but in the face of quite primitive and ancient rural market, Alibaba more hope to rely on the power of the government to vitalize, to achieve far-reaching purpose.


 


This July, Alibaba gathered 26 provinces in the 176 counties and cities of the secretary, County magistrate, convened a "county magistrate meeting", one of the important issues is how to promote the development of regional electric dealers. October, in Hangzhou headquarters held in Zhejiang County Electric Shangfeng Meeting, Alibaba further announced will start thousand county million village plan, in 3-5 years investment 10 billion yuan, set up 1000 county Operation Center and 100,000 Village service station, the first service station has been built in Hangzhou Tonglu County du ji. From this service station can be seen Taobao village-level service stations using a unified logo, "rural Taobao" as the theme. The service station belongs to the village canteen resources conformity utilization, may provide provides the net to buy, the net to sell, the on-line payment, the entrepreneurship cultivation as well as the local life five major services. Based on these county-level operations centres and village-level service points, Alibaba has sunk the supply chain system and service system of e-commerce to the countryside, promotes the rural consumption pattern upgrading, and promote the two-way circulation of "net goods to the countryside" and "the agricultural products to go to Town", and promotes the rural production and consumption way to upgrade and excavate new value.


 


in various small strategic measures continue to fall at the same time, Alibaba also from anticipate, injection of Japan, and China Post strategic cooperation, plus rookie network, a radiation nationwide logistics network is in the process of building nervously. The important role of logistics in the development of e-commerce no doubt, and the future of the network's radiation range and effectiveness will be to a large extent determine the status of Alibaba in rural electricity business.


 


in Alibaba to step up the layout at the same time, Jingdong is seen as Alibaba's future strong competitors of the electric business giant, the rural electricity market also did not dare to relax. At the end of 2013, Liu, who returned from study tour, said the channel sinking was a great opportunity and that the channel sink was one of the 5 strategic directions for the group's future.


 


Logistics System is the largest advantage of the Beijing-east compared to other competitors, channel sinking, logistics first. In this year, Jingdong Warehousing Operations Center, distribution stations, from the point, from the Ark, such as constantly sinking to the county. As of September 30, 2014, the Beijing-East Self-built logistics system coverage has increased to 1855 counties, providing the day of delivery of the "211 limited to" service and the next day to reach the coverage of the number of services, from two quarters of 111 and 622 increased to 130 and 815 respectively. In the back-end logistics system sinking at the same time, Jing-dong is also constantly strengthening the five or six-line cities and rural selection capacity, and with Tencent strategic cooperation to obtain the micro-letter and hand Q of the first-level entrance, but also is considered to be able to help the Jing-dong channel sinking important tool.





compared with Ali in the mining of rural electricity business consumption, also continuously enriched from the county and rural sellers, Jingdong products and logistics as the main characteristics of the supplier's qualification requirements are relatively high, other measures such as painting wall ads, large billboards and caravans, more just stay in the level of marketing publicity, Let the consumers of these places know about Jing Dong first.


 


but on the occasion of the end of the year, the Beijing-East a series of statements and actions or let us feel its attention to the market to enhance the degree, but also foreshadowed the more radical investment and extension next.


 


, the founder of Liu, said in a strategic cooperation conference with Grameen that Beijing would develop 100,000 villagers ' agents by the end of next June, covering 100,000 villages in China, thus building a relatively perfect rural distribution system. December 21, the Beijing-east and Sichuan province Renshou County People's government on the development of rural E-commerce cooperation signed strategic cooperation Agreement, Renshou County People's government into the village to the countryside into the "spark pilot" the first signed area. It is reported that Beijing east into the village "spark Pilot", mainly for the country to promote e-commerce into the rural integrated implementation of the project, in the country's 55 pilot counties to explore. "Spark Pilot" is a bridgehead for the development of the village to the east of Beijing, at the same time, Beijing-East will start in the whole country "Thousand County Prairie Fire Plan", select a group of government to pay more attention to a higher level, the development of electricity business is better, the characteristics of relatively rich property, Beijing-east from the construction of distribution coverage of the county, as the Beijing-East 2015


 


In addition to Alibaba and Jingdong two big electric business giants, only goods will, when the enterprise also in the same or similar way to promote the channel sink or the process of the countryside. For them, this is a new market, but there is another type of electricity market, is originally for rural life, has been in this market for many years, the sale of treasure is one of the best.


 


at the end of 2006, Zhang found this market, for this group without a PC, only through the mobile phone network of the three low group founder of the sale of treasure, the use of the huge differences between urban and rural areas, did not do the giant or did not have to do things. After years of groping, trading treasure has been based on its own unique understanding of this market consumer groups to establish a very different and existing power business model, from the selection of goods, shopping flow, payment and services to the greatest extent with these groups of consumption habits and consumption of psychological compatibility. In the past, he has enjoyed three to six lines of urban and rural electricity market dividend, but in the future he increasingly needs to face the impact from Taobao, Beijing-east and other enterprises.


 


compared with the increasingly international standards of cities, rural still seems too old and original, according to the current progress, perhaps we have to wait for the large area of rural netizens mature still need a long time. Therefore, in this wave of electricity merchants to the countryside, many of the middle of the industry began to rise. In many rural areas, we have seen more and more purchase points, providing the same as Taobao Village service stations or similar services. Some start-up companies also take the rural purchase point as the starting point for the construction of the electric business platform, joined the competition in the electric trader racing.


 


Barrier: New market needs new ideas


 


electric business in the countryside presents a prosperous scene, but closed the door to calculate the accounts is bitterness self-knowledge. The start-up of rural electricity market is facing great obstacles.


 


The first of these is the question of infrastructure, including logistics and payments, which has been a commonplace topic. Whether for the introduction or to go out, logistics has become a bottleneck restricting the development of rural electricity business. Rural logistics network facilities itself is not perfect, almost all express companies are difficult to extend the tentacles to the village level, because this construction is very not economical. Compared to the dense distribution of urban population, the rural population is more dispersed, a village of one thousand or two thousand people may be more than 10 kilometers, in the non-plain area is more so, this will make the distribution cost is very high, completely not efficiency. And this kind of logistics system is often one-way, the return no-load rate is higher, this further raises the cost. And for payment, on the one hand from the rural financial Network layout imperfect, more farmers are completely unfamiliar with online payments, few people have the ability to operate independently, and they also have a natural distrust of this payment method, and suddenly let them accept net silver, Alipay or micro-letter payment is not too realistic.


 

The problem of
infrastructure is not that it cannot be solved, but that we have not been doing well for a long time because of the rules and levels of economic development. In fact, more important is the people's consumption awareness and consumption habits of the problem, these aspects of change is not a matter of overnight. In recent years, with the rapid popularization of broadband internet and smart phone in rural areas, coupled with the active promotion of a large number of migrant workers, the majority of farmers on the internet and E-commerce has gradually become unfamiliar, but to let their consumption behavior and electronic commerce is also a high threshold.


 


But things have two sides, the obstacle is called the obstacle is relative to our original operation thinking and supply chain system, in the face of new market we need to have new ideas, to innovate breakthroughs. It is inefficient to put our logistics network system for urban planning into the countryside. But if we can make full use of the existing rural facilities in some key warehousing nodes and distribution nodes, such as information kiosks, kiosks, small supermarkets, or a more feasible solution, and in solving the problem of payment and rural consumption habits, They can also play a role. We see more and more in rural areas of shopping, including Alibaba is vigorously promote the rural service stations are in these areas beneficial attempt.


 


Rural area is a completely different market, the different geographical environment, the level of economic development, culture and so on have decided that the rural electric dealers must have and the existing electrical quotient of different kinds of things, and these different things is the ability to foothold in this market is the key factor. Compared to the chanting slogan of the brush wall and caravan, really go down to understand their choice of goods preferences, habits of the shopping process, acceptable service methods and standards is a more important thing, people who want to be popular must first understand the heart.

Rural long-term weakness, production and consumption in various times are quite backward. Electricity merchants in the countryside, in the excavation of rural electricity consumption, but more important is to drive the industrialization of information, rural industrialization, to promote the overall production and consumption of rural upgrading, to form an ecological, so is a long-term solution. Compared with the city, the rural area is a more complex market, more needs the systematic solution, does not seek the whole person is insufficient to seek a domain.