JD.com to tap rural market with 500 service centers

JD.com Inc, China's largest online direct-sales company, is expected to open 500 brick-and-mortar service centers in underdeveloped counties in the year 2015, aiming to tap the potential of e-commerce in rural regions.

The county-level service centers will be operated directly by the Beijing-based JD.com. Apart from helping customers order products online and deliver their purchases, the centers are going to recruit and train tens of thousands of people to represent JD.com's business in rural China.

It is reported after-sales services will be offered to JD.com customers in villages and the company's micro-loan services will be promoted to cash-thirsty farmers.

Going rural has been named as a core strategy for further development by major e-commerce players in China, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Rising income, the growing number of mobile Internet users and the lack of infrastructure have made the rural region the market with the most growth potential for online shopping in China.