Dog walking has become one of the services provided by concierge companies in major cities. [China Daily]
Too busy to spare time for small and trivial things that often consume your life? Concierge companies based in major Chinese cities will offer you a solution.
From walking the dog to grocery shopping, scheduling hospital appointments, delivering papers, making reservations at restaurants and babysitting, savvy business owners are eyeing busy urban dwellers to provide them with a wide range of services.
Errand runners, who are mostly part-timers, are now in big demand in major cities.
With just a cellphone and reliable transport to ensure timely delivery, 47-year-old Xu Xiaoli began her part-time errand business after she dropped her daughter off at school in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province.
Soon after she opened an app, an order popped up on Xu's phone. The app enables busy people in the city to pay errand runners like Xu.
The job can bring Xu a monthly income of at least 4,000 yuan ($580). "It is a business you can get into with a schedule that's flexible, and I can also take care of my daughter," Xu said.
Last year, the number of quick delivery service users in China reached 358 million, according to a report released by iiMedia.
The report stated that the number is expected to reach 400 million by the end of this year.
"In today's fast-paced world, more people are beginning to realize that time is expensive and the diversified and personalized quick delivery services make it more convenient and cheaper for people to 'pay to save time'," said Qiao Songtao, founder of UUpt, an errand company headquartered in Zhengzhou with over 1.6 million registered errand runners around the country.
"Seventy percent of errand runners have high school or junior college education or less, so the booming industry creates more job opportunities, regardless of gender or degree," Qiao said.
Wang Sixin, a professor with the Communication University of China, said that smartphones and mobile applications make quick delivery services possible.
The emergence of new business models has played a unique role in boosting employment in cities, Wang added.
Last year, a union platform was founded by the country's competitive delivery service players such as Meituan, UUpt and FlashEx, which is aimed at enhancing delivery efficiency based on shared resources.
Statistics show that the number of registered delivery service personnel on the platform has surpassed 5 million and their average daily earnings have reached 200 yuan.
"The job is both lucrative and rewarding," Xu said. "I have been working hard and life is getting better. It is all worth it."
(Source: China Daily)
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