The rural e-commerce market has enormous potential, but what challenges does rapid development face?

China's rural e-commerce is developing rapidly, and in 2015 the rural business of several e-commerce platforms grew at high speed. Through interviews at the grassroots level, reporters learned that the characteristic low prices of online shopping are attracting enthusiastic participation from farmers. As e-commerce enters rural areas, some agricultural products have not only increased in added value, but also entered cities through e-commerce platforms, multiplying rural residents' incomes.

Chen Xin, a “post-70s” generation woman, is the director of the Women's Federation of Guangming Village in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province. She has another identity as a JD.com e-commerce promoter. Every day she uses a loudspeaker to broadcast JD Mall's promotional information in the village. Chen Xin said: “E-commerce goods are much cheaper than village shops. During the ‘Double Eleven’ promotion, a bottle of shampoo that costs 48 yuan sold for only 28 yuan. The villagers don't know how to place orders, so I help them buy.” E-commerce is becoming a new way for farmers to shop. In 2015, the online shopping amount of the villagers in this village exceeded 400,000 yuan.

Nationwide, offline promoters like Chen Xin number 120,000 at JD.com alone. This method has become a special strategy for e-commerce to develop the rural market. Chen Xin told reporters that many villagers are unfamiliar with computers and do not trust online shopping, while offline outlets can guide them to “get wired.” In just a short time, 60% of the people in the village have become accustomed to shopping online.

Guangming Village is a microcosm of the booming development of rural e-commerce. Ma Junsheng, director of the State Post Bureau, said in an earlier interview with reporters that he has seen many such new business forms in rural areas. For example, when farmers first started shopping online they lacked confidence and did not dare to buy, so some young people who had returned from working elsewhere invented the new business form of purchasing online on behalf of others. They charge a few yuan per item but can buy goods that are dozens to hundreds of yuan cheaper, and the farmers are very happy. Now the speed of express delivery and e-commerce going to the countryside has surpassed that in cities.

In November 2015, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Accelerated Development of Rural E-Commerce,” proposing to fully leverage existing market resources and third-party platforms, cultivate diversified market entities in rural e-commerce, encourage e-commerce, logistics, commerce, finance, supply and marketing, postal services, express delivery and other social resources to strengthen cooperation, build rural shopping network platforms, achieve the matching and integration of advantageous resources, and participate in the development of rural e-commerce.

Liu Qiangdong, founder of JD Group, believes that the development of e-commerce in rural areas is becoming a highlight of China's economy. On the one hand, e-commerce makes shopping convenient for farmers and lowers the threshold for farmers to start businesses. More importantly, e-commerce has also opened up channels for agricultural products to flow outward.

In Suqian, Chen Zhonggui, a 66-year-old resident of Dingzui Town, grew 8 mu (approx. 0.53 hectares) of daylily. After selling through e-commerce, his income increased substantially. His two sons, who used to work elsewhere, also returned home, and the whole family grows vegetables together. “Before, it sold for a few mao per jin; now it can sell for three yuan per jin. The annual income from one mu of vegetable land exceeds 10,000 yuan, four times what it was before.” he said.

Many e-commerce companies have sniffed out business opportunities in rural areas. In 2015, JD Mall launched its rural e-commerce strategy. Alibaba also released its “Thousand Villages, Ten Thousand Counties” plan in 2014, investing 10 billion yuan over 3 to 5 years to establish 1,000 county-level service centers and 100,000 rural service stations.

China's rural e-commerce market has enormous potential, but developing rural e-commerce is not a smooth path and faces many challenges. These include the homogenization of agricultural products and difficulties in quality standard certification. At the same time, standards for sorting, packaging, distribution and acceptance in the circulation process also need to be improved. In addition, in less developed areas, logistics costs are high due to incomplete infrastructure such as roads and freight centers.