What problems has rural e-commerce really solved?

The internet today keeps waving the banner of rural e-commerce, hoping to capture the last uncultivated territory of the internet, yet what lies before us is much talk and little action.

Many people assume that doing rural e-commerce is just a matter of a "network" and a computer, right?

Actually, that is not the case at all. Doing rural e-commerce is not as good as it looks; breaking into rural e-commerce is in fact extremely difficult.

After Premier Li Keqiang launched the "Internet Plus" plan in 2015, many people pinned their future money-making schemes on rural areas. For rural areas, e-commerce is a gold mine waiting to be developed, so the countryside will certainly be a big growth market in the future.

But many people do not understand: what exactly is rural e-commerce? Why do rural e-commerce? What problems can rural e-commerce solve? Now Agriculturalist (public account: nyguancha) will explain it for everyone!

What is rural e-commerce?

Baidu Baike's definition: Rural e-commerce (rural electronic commerce) uses online platforms to graft various resources that serve rural areas, expanding rural information service business and service fields, so that it also becomes an information service station for agriculture, rural areas and farmers throughout counties, towns and villages. As the physical terminal of rural e-commerce platforms, it takes root directly in rural areas to serve agriculture, rural areas and farmers, truly making services for agriculture, rural areas and farmers land on the ground, and making farmers the biggest beneficiaries of the platform.

The media and public definition: rural e-commerce means using internet platforms to bring industrial goods to the countryside and agricultural products to the cities, to connect resources and perform other functions, and through the internet to open up mutual exchange and resource sharing among agriculture, rural areas, farmers and the cities.

Now there are too many related concepts: some call it agricultural product e-commerce, some call it county-level e-commerce, some call it agriculture-related e-commerce, and some call it agricultural e-commerce. It is a bit messy. And behind these concepts of rural e-commerce, even a basic common-sense premise, what e-commerce is, has not been made clear.

In fact, up to now, the concept of rural e-commerce is rather mixed, and everyone's ideas differ, so it just depends on how you understand rural e-commerce!

Why do we do rural e-commerce?

First, to meet the real needs of farmers

Rural e-commerce is a livelihood project. Go around the countryside and see: how hard is it for rural people to pay a phone bill? How hard is it to buy a branded product? Just look at the bizarre counterfeit and shoddy products appearing in rural markets, and you will know how much potential the rural e-commerce market has. The rural consumer market cannot get going, not only because of the problem of "cannot afford to buy" but also the problem of "cannot find anything to buy". From a subjective standpoint, the timing for e-commerce to enter is quite good. Whether it is McKinsey's professional research or the data on Alibaba's platform, both give a realistic answer: rural e-commerce has great "money" prospects.

Second, it can encourage young people to return to their hometowns to start businesses

We shout every year, young people, hurry back to the countryside, otherwise who will farm the land tomorrow? But even shouting ourselves hoarse, hardly anyone goes back. Why? If no livelihood is created in the countryside that young people are willing to do, that pays decently and is fairly respectable, who would be willing to go back? To farm the land again the way the older generation of farmers did, young people will certainly refuse.

But after rural e-commerce emerged, young people are willing to go back and do it, and it is quite easy to do. One network cable, one computer, one account, a few thousand yuan, and you can get started. The threshold for starting a business is low, the risk is small, and moving the mouse brings income. After Taobao villages sprang up in various places, young people have basically all come back.

Look at the current data: about 95% of the business entities in rural e-commerce are young people. Where there are young people, there is hope. Isn't today's e-commerce also driven by young people who were the first to shop online?

If you want young people to return to their hometowns to start businesses, then it depends on whether rural e-commerce is popular in your hometown!

Next, let's talk about what rural e-commerce can truly, genuinely solve.

1. It solves the problem of slow income growth for farmers

A new channel for increasing income, mainly through online information matching, which helps ease the difficulty of selling, and also directly connects production and sales, reducing intermediate links and increasing efficiency.

Rural e-commerce, in every field and at every stage before, during and after production, gets farmers involved in rural e-commerce, changing the past situation where farmers only farmed and raised livestock. From now on, through e-commerce they can also sell directly, so the returns from the circulation links can also remain in farmers' hands, solving the problem of slow growth in farmers' income.

2. It solves the difficult problem of rural people being unable to sell their products, helping agricultural producers better sell products to all parts of the country and even around the world

On Taobao there are also many specialty stores. When products have distinctive features and selling points, selling one's goods online naturally becomes a relatively low-cost and high-return matter, so it is favored by many agricultural producers. More agricultural producers are also willing to use the internet to start businesses, and to use the internet for sales and marketing.

3. It can solve the problem of rural people wanting to buy but being unable to buy or unable to buy well, letting consumers in rural areas enjoy goods from around the world without leaving home

For example, goods from Shanghai, Beijing, New York, London and Tokyo let people try new things, and through online shopping they can buy specialty products from all over the country and new products from all over the world, enabling all rural residents to consume better online.

And they can also compare goods across several stores, so what lies before you is all kinds of "delicacies", and the choices become more varied.

4. It solves the problem of difficult entrepreneurship in rural areas, letting outstanding talent stay in the countryside and rely on the countryside to start businesses and develop

A new vehicle for entrepreneurship, using e-commerce to build low-cost platforms for tens of thousands of young people to return home and start businesses.

Through the internet, farmers do not need to go to the cities to work or to look for all kinds of job opportunities. They can also rely on their hometown's resources and various distinctive features to start businesses online, bringing derivative development opportunities in service industries, including all kinds of service opportunities such as logistics and training.

5. It can drive the rapid development of the local economy and raise farmers' economic income

It promotes rural economic development through the model of urban goods going to the countryside and rural goods going to the cities, letting agricultural products from rural markets enter the cities, driving market circulation in the countryside, bringing convenient living services to rural areas, promoting economic development, driving the rapid development of the local economy, and raising farmers' economic income, for example Xiangchengpin.

6. Rural e-commerce can even give rise to a new industry

A new driving force for transformation: e-commerce has driven the prosperity of e-commerce services and the packaging, express delivery and logistics industries, has a clear upgrading and transforming effect on existing industries, and may even give rise to a new industry.

7. At the same time, it can also solve the problem of rural people paying bills

How hard is it for rural people to pay a phone bill? Friends living in the countryside may all know that to pay a bill you still have to run to a place several kilometers from home. Although our country is now economically developed and you can go by vehicle, running around like this every month, aren't you tired? Rural e-commerce precisely solves this difficult problem: you can pay bills at home.

From the above, it can be seen that the "birth" of rural e-commerce has many effects and can also solve many problems. It can be said to solve some of farmers' problems, but doing rural e-commerce still requires crossing many "hurdles"!

In the current development of rural e-commerce, we should not only encourage boldly crossing the river by feeling the stones, but also simultaneously strengthen theoretical summary and top-level design. It also requires talent, innovation and so on. You who want to do rural e-commerce, are you ready?