Chinese buy more groceries online and snap up second-hand laptops amid coronavirus

WeChat, the multipurpose messaging app run by internet giant Tencent Holdings, said there has been a sharp increase in people using its platform to buy groceries and everyday food items, as many remain stranded in their homes in China amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Delivery-to-your-door mini programmes embedded in WeChat have seen strong growth in the past 20 days, with users of an online supermarket mini app and a vegetable and fruit mini app seeing growth of 115 per cent and 168 per cent respectively year on year, according to WeChat data released on Monday.

Community online merchants also saw users increase by 83 per cent over the past 20 days, against the same period a year ago.

The numbers reflect a strong move from offline to online activity in China, including health check-ups, education and shopping, with many cities locked down to prevent the spread of the disease, which has now killed more than 1,800 people and infected more than 72,000 in China as of February 17.

The coronavirus epidemic, although expected to be negative for overall economic growth, has presented an unexpected opportunity for some internet companies as e-commerce and remote working become an even bigger part of people’s everyday lives.

Taobao Marketplace, Alibaba Group Holding’s biggest online shopping site, and short video platforms such as Tencent-backed Kuaishou and Douyin, owned by ByteDance and known as TikTok overseas, have also seen their popularity surge as people flock to online sites in place of gathering in public places.