Now and then: Shopping through the ages in China

A therapist from the mobile app Kungfu Bear offers door-to-door massage service at a customer's place. [Photo from web]

Now and beyond: Apps bring services to your home

Kungfu Bear is an example of a mobile app that facilitates door-to-door service.

First, download Kungfu Bear from an app store. Open it and you will see a list of therapists. Click on the nearest one and his resume, previous orders and customer comments pop-up. You can also make an appointment with the therapist.

Screengrabs of the mobile app Kungfu Bear. [Photo from web]

Many therapists listed on the app opened brick-and-mortar stores, but later discovered that that was not such a good business decision. Customers, especially younger ones, find visiting a massage parlor an inconvenience. Several other services, such as car maintenance and house cleaning, now operate online through apps instead of physical locations. Apart from being convenient, another advantage is that any person with skills can become their own boss without a huge investment.

There are many similar services, like 1jiajie.com for housekeeping, and helijia,cn for manicures.

A nail specialist from helijia,cn offers her services at a customer's place. Helijia.cn began door-to-door manicure services from July 10, 2014. [Photo/CFP]