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Xinmei Shen

This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Ordering fresh groceries online is common in China. But now Alibaba’s Hema supermarkets are offering a different delivery service: Sex toys.
On Hema’s app, customers can order from a selection of 700 adult products, including everything from lubricant to vibrators. The Alibaba-owned company says condoms and pregnancy tests are among the most popular products, with most customers aged between 40 and 49. (Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.)
The company said it launched the service because customers demanded quick delivery: The app has an option to deliver in 30 minutes in Shanghai, the only city where it’s available.

The Hema supermarkets are part of a push by China’s e-commerce giants into offline retail. JD.com, an Alibaba competitor in China also opened similar stores earlier this year.
In a Hema store, you can scan goods with your phone to read more about them, as well as checking out and paying with your phone.

The stores also work as warehouses for online orders that come from the neighborhood. Store employees will pick out and pack up the goods, and deliver them to your door.
But if you want adult items, you’ll have to use the app: Hema says they are not for sale in the physical supermarket.

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



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Alibaba’s supermarket also delivers adult toys to your door

Hema app launches adult section promising to deliver in 30 minutes

Alibaba’s supermarket also delivers adult toys to your door

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hema app launches adult section promising to deliver in 30 minutes

Hema app launches adult section promising to deliver in 30 minutes