On-Demand Economy Booms With Tech Drive

Wang Wei and his family live in the subtropical city of Haikou， Hainan Province in south China. His 8-year-old daughter has never seen snow in her life， but it was her dream to have a snowman of her own.

To fulfill her daughters wish， instead of traveling thousands of miles， Wang turned to the Internet. He found on Xianyu， an e-commerce platform under tech giant Alibaba， a vendor who could make the wish come true at the price of 30 yuan （$4.5）.

Li Bingxuan， 28， is a graphic designer in Harbin， capital of the snow-rich northeastern province of Heilongjiang. She started her parttime business offering snow-related on-demand services on Xianyu last year.

“I never expected anyone would show interest or make a deal with me， but it happened，”Li said， adding that she got her first order just several hours after posting service details on the Internet.

Upon Wangs demand， Li made a snowman wearing a red hat and scarf with a note beside it reading “Papa and Mama love you.” She took pictures and recorded videos of the snowman and sent them to Wang.

“My girl was so happy that night when she saw the pictures and videos. The snowman has brought us so much joy； it was definitely worth it！” Wang said.

For Li， the part-time job working as a “proxy”brings her handsome profits. Up till now， she has received hundreds of orders， which earn her up to 400 yuan （$61） a day.

“I enjoy this proxy job as it can help generate income with no cost. I have encouraged my friends to try it，” she said.

On-demand businesses like Lis have become popular in China， with diverse services offered online， ranging from finding a chauffeur for a drunk customer to asking other pet owners to take care of your dog while you are away.

Experts attribute the boom to the rapidly improving consumption power of Chinese people as well as mushrooming Internet technologies.

Take on-demand chauffeurs for example. The job first emerged in 2003 after a revised road safety law imposed tougher penalties for drunk driving. Several tech companies have moved to offer such services in the following years.

As of September 2019， the total number of orders for chauffeur hiring in China had exceeded 1 billion， according to a report released by the big data center of eDaijia， a Beijing-based service provider.

Internet technologies connect people from different places with various demands in minimal time and enable transactions to be made online， Xu Yaquan， a professor at the School of Humanities， Nanchang University in Jiangxi Province， east China， said.

Data released by the China Internet Network Information Center showed as of June， China had more than 940 million Internet users， about one fifth of the global total. The number of online payment users reached 805 million， accounting for 85.7 percent of Internet users in the country.

“These technologies offer sound support for the development of the on-demand economy，” Xu added.

Li Xiaojia， a professor at the School of Public Administration of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing， said the phenomenon reflects new social demands and the precise division of labor.

“The demands are diverse and services can be customized，” Li Xiaojia said. “You can ask someone to shop for you abroad， take care of your pets or even sort your garbage.”

Such services play a role in improving social efficiency and service providers can cash in on their spare time while enjoying a more fulfilling life， he added.

Some experts believe that the emerging business form breaks the stereotype of the traditional economy and helps create new job opportunities， but it has also led to concerns that it may give rise to illicit acts， like hiring people to cheat in an exam.

“The government should improve regulations to ensure the legitimate rights of consumers and promote the rational development of the on-demand economy，” Li Xiaojia said.