This year, taking advantage of the competition of e-commerce platforms to move westward, the wind of November 11th passed through the "Yumen Pass" and blew to farther places.
At the end of October, Xinjiang welcomed the first wave of free shipping on November 11th, and hoarding became a hot topic of conversation between Ziyue and local friends. After graduating from Ziyue University, he came to Yecheng County in Kashgar, Xinjiang and became a volunteer for the Western Plan. She, who loves to travel, recently spotted a sports camera online. During the 11.11 period, not only was there an unprecedented discount, but it also came with "free shipping and delivery to the village" services.
For the first time in Yili Prefecture, over 1000 kilometers away, Wang Zhen truly felt the excitement and joy of free shipping on November 11th. As the head of the third-party logistics service operator at the Yili express delivery point, he noticed that the number of packages at the site has increased by about twice compared to the same period last year, and even compared to the same period in September this year, it has increased by 30%. Moreover, the increase mainly comes from the Pinduoduo platform.
As the leader of e-commerce's westward travel, Pinduoduo pioneered the transit and centralized transportation mode in 2022, and issued an invitation to Xinjiang, Xizang and other western regions to "join the parcel post area". Since then, it has taken the lead in promoting free parcel post delivery to villages in Xinjiang, reducing the distance between terminal distribution outlets and consumers to within 2 kilometers from improving user service experience and reducing merchants' parcel post costs; On the other hand, by using the second stage freight of bottom line transit consolidation, the business burden is reduced and more high-quality goods are encouraged to be supplied to the western region. This series of measures quickly attracted the whole industry to follow suit, and Xinjiang, one of the six western provinces and regions, also welcomed its first free shipping 11.11 this year.
China Post Group Co., Ltd. predicts that there will be a significant increase in business volume during the 11.11 period compared to the current scale. Moreover, this year's 11.11 is 2 to 12 days earlier than previous years, with a duration of 26 to 34 days, making it the longest lasting 11.11 in history.
Zhu Keli, Executive Director of the China Information Association and Founding President of the National Research Institute for New Economy, stated that by opening up the main artery of logistics westward and unblocking the "capillaries", it will accelerate the flow of resources within and outside the region, promote coordinated industrial development, and stimulate market vitality. At the same time, it also helps to enhance the consumption experience of residents in the western region, further expand domestic demand, and promote sustained and healthy economic development. In the long run, it will bring broader development space and stronger development momentum to the western region.
There is a delivery point where the order volume doubled on November 11th
Wang Zhen has been rushing to the office every day for the past half month to keep an eye on the outgoing goods. The express sorting machine operates 24 hours a day, and workers work in shifts day and night to sort. At 4am, there are trucks handling and transporting express packages to counties and towns under the jurisdiction of Yili. It won't be long before these parcels are delivered to the collection point. Express packages of all sizes span across half of China, going through various stages of racing against time. In the end, when taking a walk, locals can easily pick them up.
According to Wang Zhen's statistics, the number of express deliveries currently being shipped at the site has increased by nearly 200% compared to the 11.11 period last year, and by nearly 30% compared to the same period in September. Among these orders, large items such as household appliances account for about 24%. In the past, packages mainly consisted of clothing, daily necessities, and toys. In recent months, there has been a noticeable increase in seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as smart home appliances
The staff of the Mail Processing Center of Yili Postal Branch said, "As expected, the volume of mail has increased significantly since October 20th, from the daily 60000 to 80000. In response to this 11.11, we have also made sufficient plans. Firstly, we have renovated the site, adding 300 square meters of space dedicated to the loading and unloading of imported trains to avoid congestion. Secondly, we have expanded the team members from 35 people per team to 50 people per team to ensure that mail reaches consumers as quickly as possible
After the autumn harvest, everyone has both leisure and money to start buying things for their homes, "said Wang Zhen
The recent busy scene of Yili express delivery points is a vivid portrayal of the prosperous and active Xinjiang express delivery market, and the continuous improvement of development quality and efficiency. According to data released by the Xinjiang Postal Administration, from January to September this year, the volume of express delivery services in Xinjiang reached 312 million, a year-on-year increase of 37.57%, which has exceeded the annual business volume of last year. Among them, the express delivery volume in September reached 44.7061 million pieces, a year-on-year increase of 37.42%.
Wang Ying, who lives in Urumqi, purchased 15 kilograms of cat litter and 8 kilograms of cat food on Pinduoduo during November 11th this year, with a price discount of about 40% compared to usual. Wang Ying loves cats and hopes to provide her beloved pets with high-quality cat food, litter, snacks, and toys. Compared to offline pet stores, the price advantage of online shopping is obvious. However, on some platforms, the one-way shipping cost for packages entering Xinjiang exceeds 50 yuan. "It wasn't until last year that I discovered that Pinduoduo could offer free shipping for even small packages, that I truly experienced the convenience and fun of online shopping
Ziyue, a college student volunteer for the Western Plan, recently purchased new ovens, flour, butter, soybean flour, as well as cookie molds, baking bowls, egg beaters, and other tools online. Two summers ago, she came to Yecheng County in Kashgar, Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan and the Indian controlled Kashmir region, 1500 kilometers away from Urumqi.
Ziyue, who was originally prepared to endure hardship, found that this place is not worse than the inland county town, with complete infrastructure and equally convenient online shopping. When she wanted to buy a floor mat for her living room, the carpets sold by local stores were mostly thick, difficult to clean, and colorful. So, she opened Pinduoduo and found a simple and elegant style. "Despite the high mountains and long roads, the merchant still promised free shipping." Afterwards, she also purchased tables, chairs, and benches online, and with the baking set prepared on November 11th, fireworks filled her living room. "Although I am at the border, convenient e-commerce has made my life no different from the past
According to third-party statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, e-commerce in Xinjiang showed strong growth momentum and diversified development pattern, achieving a year-on-year increase of 10.7% in online transaction volume, including a year-on-year increase of 14.1% in online retail sales. From a regional distribution perspective, Urumqi City, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, and Aksu Prefecture all hold leading positions in online transaction volume and online retail volume.
11.11 Witness the Livelihood Effect of Free Shipping Policy
The busy 11.11 is a microcosm of the revitalization of online consumption in Xinjiang, reflecting the huge livelihood effects brought about by remote areas joining the "free shipping zone" and the continuous decline in free shipping costs.
According to data from the Xinjiang Postal Administration, in the past year of "free shipping" in Xinjiang, the potential for online shopping consumption has been greatly released, and the daily delivery volume of express delivery has increased by more than 30%, driving the growth of outbound business volume. Currently, the per capita use of express delivery has exceeded 48 items. Free shipping has not only opened up a new situation for the development of Xinjiang's express delivery industry, but also made positive contributions to Xinjiang's better integration into the national unified market and the convenience of production and life for people of all ethnic groups.
To enhance the free shipping experience for consumers in remote areas, Pinduoduo has also deepened its implementation from two dimensions: "entering villages" and "reducing costs". Wang Zhen remembers that in order to prevent packages from being "blocked" in the county and instead sinking into villages within the daily living radius of ordinary people, he and Pinduoduo staff traveled to 416 villages of all sizes in Yili from July to the end of September last year. Every time a village collection point is opened, he marks a star on the mobile map, densely filling up the 260000 square kilometers of Yili.
In Yili, the farthest village is over 300 kilometers away from the county seat; some villages are deserted in summer and have gone to pasture to graze; some villages are on high mountains, and it's already early morning after visiting them; sometimes when we encounter language barriers, villagers even question us for 'telecom fraud'. "Wang Zhen said that although the process was difficult, the hard bones were eventually gnawed on.
In recent years, Xinjiang has accelerated the construction of rural express logistics system, focusing on connecting the last mile of the end, and continuously strengthening the infrastructure construction of rural express delivery. Currently, a total of 8025 village level express logistics comprehensive service stations have been established in the whole region, and the coverage rate of express delivery services in established villages has reached 99.8%.
Pinduoduo offers billions of discounts, bringing a better consumer experience to consumers in remote areas and new business opportunities for businesses. Photo by Haomanzhu
At the same time, in order to encourage more businesses to open up their minds, increase the supply of high-quality goods to western regions, and provide free shipping services to villages, Pinduoduo recently announced that the platform will fully subsidize the second stage freight generated by express transit and consolidation in remote areas. The matching transit consolidation mode was also pioneered by the platform. Taking Xinjiang as an example, all packages sent to Xinjiang are first sent to the Xi'an transit consolidation warehouse, and then transported to the destination through third-party logistics service operators to reduce marginal costs through economies of scale.
Thanks to a series of measures, since September last year, the number of orders handled by Guangwang Zhen in Yili Prefecture has gradually increased from less than 100 per township to six times the total number of orders in the past.
Ziyue's consumption habits largely explain the growth of orders. As a new generation of "Xinjiang drifters", she is busy with work and doesn't have time to go shopping at the supermarket. Instead, she places orders for groceries at Duoduo and delivers them to the community the next day. Yecheng doesn't have her favorite coconut water or southern fruits, she will buy them online. Recently, she also ordered Christmas trees, decorative lighting fixtures, pet costumes for Halloween, and ingredients for cooking with friends.
"Logistics plays an important role in the economic development of remote provinces such as Xinjiang and Xizang. The smoothness of logistics directly affects the development and utilization of resources, industrial development and people's living standards in these regions." Zhu Keli, executive director of the China Information Association and founding president of the National Research Institute of New Economy, said.
In his opinion, opening up the main artery of logistics westward can not only reduce logistics costs and improve transportation efficiency, but also promote economic exchanges within and outside the region, attract more investment, and promote industrial upgrading and economic development. Pinduoduo and other e-commerce platforms have pioneered policies such as centralized transit, reduced freight charges for the second stage of transit, and implemented free express delivery to villages, which have a positive impact on enhancing the overall competitiveness of the western economy. These measures are expected to reduce the cost of e-commerce going west and provide strong support for the circulation of goods in remote areas of the western region