New professions springing up as epidemic wanes

WUHAN－Chai Hua gave up her job as an insurance salesperson and embarked on a new career as a group-purchase manager in April when Wuhan, the city in Hubei province that was hit hardest by the COVID-19 epidemic, lifted its outbound restrictions after nearly 80 days of lockdown.

The strict lockdown, which banned most outdoor activities at the height of the outbreak, has left a profound mark on the lifestyles of locals. Even when life returned to normal as the epidemic ebbed, the habits of ordering daily commodities through WeChat groups continued among many residents of Chai's community.

Chai's WeChat group has 315 members, most of whom live in the same neighborhood. She posts links of products being promoted every morning, and goods ordered will be delivered the next day to Chai's warehouse, which was renovated from a garage.

The discounts Chai offers helped her obtain many loyal customers. In her group, potatoes go for 2 yuan (30 cents) per kilogram, and 2 kg of shrimp can be purchased for 100 yuan.

The Yulanyuan community where Chai lives is close to two universities, and many residents are university staff and retired workers.

"There are many elderly people who have mobility problems in the community. Given that the supermarket is far away, purchasing vegetables here is my first choice," said Jin Tingzhi, a retired professor of Wuhan University of Technology.

Chai volunteered to help her community with group purchasing during the lockdown. After traffic restrictions were lifted, she decided to make it her full-time job.

"Many people still prefer to buy vegetables and fruits from me for health concerns after the lockdown, and I also want to spend more time with my 13-year-old son, so I decided to quit my job at the insurance company," Chai said. "Though I make less than before, I enjoy my new job and feel a strong sense of accomplishment."

According to Dai Shanhui, CEO of Shixianghui, a group purchase platform Chai often uses, the platform now covers about 4,000 communities in Wuhan, a sharp increase from just 60 before the epidemic.

"Group purchasing has been more recognized since the COVID-19 outbreak for its convenience, cheaper prices and delivery with no personal contact," Dai said. "We expect it to further grow this year."

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has cast a shadow on the global economy, has also given birth to new opportunities and business forms, with emerging occupations springing up one after another.

After a daily meeting at 9 am, Chen Hui led his team to visit a fruit store in Huangshi, a city close to Wuhan.

The 23-year-old is an online store planner, a new profession that sprouted amid the epidemic after the citywide lockdown hampered traditional offline trading between stores and customers and urged shops to go online to reach customers.

"We mainly set up online selling platforms for offline stores so they could expand their sales with online orders and attract more guests by issuing coupons," Chen said.

With discount coupons designed by Chen's team, the turnover of a hotpot restaurant in Huangshi increased by 40 percent during the traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival.

In the past few months, Chen visited nearly all the brick-and-mortar businesses in Huangshi. Over 300 of those enterprises, which included hotels, restaurants and grocery stores, have been digitally upgraded with the guidance of his team, he said.

"There are 40 million offline stores in China. I think they will gradually transform their sales channels to cover both online and offline customers," Chen said.

Zhang Chenggang, an associate professor at Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing, said that the number of people engaged in new professions such as online shop planners and digitization service providers is expected to reach 100 million by 2020 in China.

According to Zhang, online platforms can empower workers with more productivity and better services.

"They will also drive the emergence of even more novel professions such as AI trainers," Zhang added.

Xinhua