Hema Fresh starts 24-hour deliveries in two cities

[Photo: from IC]

Hema Fresh, the prototype supermarket chain of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's New Retail concept, has launched a 24 hour delivery service in two Chinese cities as it strives to combine the online and offline shopping experience.

From Sunday, customers in Shanghai and Beijing can place orders online on Hema's app from 10 pm to 7 am, when brick-and-mortar Hema stores are closed, and have their goods delivered in as little as 30 minutes within a radius of three kilometers.

Customers now can satisfy their stomach in the middle of the night by ordering cooked seafood, snacks and beverages, as well as meet more intimate needs such as picking from among 700 sexual-wellness products including condoms and lubricants.

The new service fits closely with Alibaba's efforts to realize its new "three-kilometer ideal living community" goal, which includes the integration of technologies and other services to pinpoint consumer needs, said Hema CEO Hou Yi.

[The audio clip is from Studio+, produced by CRI] 

(China Daily: China Daily)