Online grocery orders a lifeline for city residents

Providers of important daily necessities in Shanghai have pledged to accept every online order and complete as many deliveries as possible to guarantee the supply of goods in the COVID-hit city.

When China Daily visited a Metro supermarket in the city's Putuo district on Wednesday, some 60 staff members were busy packing goods, including vegetables, meat and fruit, and loading them onto delivery vehicles, even though it is only open in an online capacity.

"We're packing the products as fast as we can to meet the soaring online orders. Our online business hasn't ceased since the COVID-19 outbreak hit. Our goal is to ensure every order can be accepted," said Wang Hongyu, head of the supermarket.

"Logistics is difficult right now because many couriers have been placed in closed-loop management due to the epidemic. But we're trying our best to contact delivery companies to help pick up the slack and get orders out to the people who need them," he added.

Wang said he is glad to see some previously locked-down employees coming back to work after having met epidemic prevention requirements, adding an increase in manpower will help improve work efficiency.

The online business of supermarket chain RT-Mart in the city's Jing'an district has also been nonstop, with different vegetable sets available to order to save time.

The supermarket has contacted at least 10 community committees via WeChat to ensure that basic supplies for residents, including those with special needs, can be met in a timely manner, according to Chen Youlong, an employee from the retailer.

"For example, we delivered milk powder to a compound just a few days ago after we found a mom asking for help in the neighborhood's WeChat group," he added.

Both supermarket employees said they are on standby to prepare for the resumption of business offline in line with the epidemic situation citywide.

Since the metropolis began implementing a three-zone epidemic control system on Monday that categorizes communities based on their COVID-19 infections, the management of suppliers has also been reclassified.

In lockdown and controlled zones, where residents cannot leave their neighborhoods, suppliers such as supermarkets, chain restaurants and drugstores must operate online only, with staff packing products offline and supporting deliveries.

In precautionary zones, where residents can walk out of their compounds but stay within their subdistricts, commercial outlets are allowed to resume business offline but have to avoid gatherings of people by using a reservation system or limiting customer flow.

As of Tuesday, a total of 545 Lianhua markets and Century Lianhua supermarkets across Shanghai had resumed operation, 79 more than on Monday, while the number of Carrefour hypermarkets that can operate online has doubled compared with last week.

Jiefang Daily, a Shanghai-based newspaper, reported on Wednesday that a few Lianhua markets in Songjiang and Jinshan districts have resumed offline business, where customer flow has been limited.