Ecommerce China

Guanxi And ecommerce in China 

Despite the reputation of ecommerce in China, shoppers are distant and impersonal, through social technologies such as instant messaging, they can create a sense of personal and social relationships between buyers and sellers, called "fast guanxi" in China, to facilitate transactions loyalty, interactivity and repetition,


Three researchers - plus Pavlou, Carol Xiaojuan Or Tilburg University and Robert M. Davison, City University of Hong Kong - The data studied Taobao, the leading online marketplace in China, to examine the effectiveness of using computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology to build guanxi and turn impersonal occasional buyers into loyal customers and committed to long term through personal relationships.

 Guanxi is a Chinese concept 

"broadly as an interpersonal relationship of proximity and pervasive" and "based on the quality of social interactions and the reciprocal exchange of mutual benefit," Or, Pavlou and Davison wrote. In the past, online shoppers were assumed to prefer impersonal transactions, but their study argues that retailers and customers basically want the kind of relationship that can be called guanxi, although the degree and extent of communication varies culture.

 For example, in China, communication before an operation a few dollars could take more than 45 minutes.

 "Nobody argues that personal relationships are not important, but it is unfathomable that people in the United States would engage in such an extensive communication and personal interaction for a small transaction," said Pavlou, Milton F. Stauffer Professor of Information Technology and Strategy of the Fox School. 

 Taobao and... 

IM technology used on Taobao allows buyers and sellers to interact immediately and use emoticons and avatars in the negotiation and verification of the details of the transaction. In addition, all guest posts related to a specific product are displayed in a message box. Finally, the feedback system allows users to textual and numerical evaluations of buyers and sellers that create other reports. "The role of CMC tools in the rapid establishment guanxi via interactivity, presence and confidence, suggests that the buyer-seller interaction can easily and quickly turn strangers into knowledge," the researchers write. "In terms of repeated transactions, the effective use of CMC tools creates a significant opportunity for online sellers who want to quickly build guanxi with buyers by building buyers' trust.

" With the use of CMC tools (such as instant messaging, message boxes and return), Taobao has reached a level of loyalty or "sticky", 71.3 per cent of its customer base - the kind loyalty that is usually associated to brick and mortar retailers. Guanxi, largely made possible by CMC tools, can help to explain the success of Taobao in China despite eBay's attempts to capture the online market in China with eBay in China (EachNet). Taobao currently has a 96 market share in China per cent against 0.1 per cent for EachNet.

source : http://www.sciencecodex.com/ecommerces_future_is_in_creating_swift_guanxi_or_personal_and_social_rapport-114090

Where to buy online Organic food in China ?

What is the availability of organic food in China?
The answer is complicated and it all boils down to what the ultimate philosophy of the visitor is on the food "organic" and their confidence level. New food scandals seem to be a weekly event - the most famous of them was contaminated with melamine and infant formula milk. But recently, Wal-Mart stores in Chongqing have been temporarily closed for the sale of meat ordinary pork as organic. The bottom line is, you can find plenty of food in China, which claims to be organic, but it can not ultimately be what you (or someone) would consider organic.

How do you say Organic?

The word organic in Mandarin Chinese is youji, pronounced gee Yoh. The characters are 有机. If you want to ask if something is organic, you can say "Zhe ge shi youji my? This phrase is pronounced "juh geh sheh Yoh my gee?"

这个 是 有机 吗?

 Alternatively, you can display characters:
 Growing organic food in China While China has been on the rise as one of the largest producers of organic vegetables for export, "organic" food that is for sale locally is suspect. organic quality export go through rigorous testing and inspection before being sent overseas because they fall under the control of the importing country (Canada often and the United States) where criteria are rigid. However, the food for the domestic market does not undergo such a review. While the controls can theoretically be implemented, corruption abounds. Organic labels can be easily manufactured.

The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture known as the Green Revolution.
 Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, organic food is food produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organizations.

Buy organic foods in supermarkets:

 In large cities, there are supermarkets that carry the organic brands of imported dry goods, such as raisins, flour, biscuits, etc. There is a limited amount of organic dry goods from China. If you are not vegetarian, your life can be difficult. I rarely saw meat "organic" or fish, although recently I saw pork labeled "eco-pig" of China.

In Shanghai you can buy in Epermarket , a famous online supermarket for expat.

There is no way of knowing what this label. Locally grown vegetables "organic" are available in high-end supermarkets, while fruit are harder to find. These vegetables, while claiming to be organic, are often grown in soils that do not meet international standards for organic products. So while they may not really have pesticides or herbicides used during growth, they are likely grown in soil that is not very clean and be sprinkled with water that is heavily polluted.

best Buys Organic

 Here is a good list of things you should buy organic if you can Best Buys organic. Order organic food home delivery: In large cities there is a home delivery service and the increased availability of online ordering organic foods. One such provider is a company called Shanghai Fields. While all the products they sell are organic, these companies tend to try to source the highest quality possible. specialized companies also work in the home delivery of organic milk and yogurt. If you are in China for a long stay, you can look in home delivery to most of your organic needs.

Restaurant Dining: Eating is difficult. They can advertise food as organic, but who knows. You may ask: "Is it organic" and the answer is an enthusiastic "yes" Then you can say to another server "is not organic, is it" and they will respond with as much??

Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods of organic farming – that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic foods are also not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

 organic food in China is rising

Although interest and availability of organic food in China is rising, it is not near the standards of Europe / Australia / North America. So if you are serious about continuing your organic life in China, then I suggest you to think like a squirrel and pack enough food whole nuts, seeds and dried fruit to get through the winter. Bottom Line: I lived in Shanghai for many years and my two children were born here. Food scandals really scare me - as they are all local and expatriate community.

We do the best we can with what we can. If I can buy organic and I trust them
 If I'm in a questionable shop and they tell me that it's organic, I'm skeptical. The internal market and national interests in organic food increases as disposable income is internal, which makes buying organic food more expensive as possible
read also http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/slowfoodorganiclocal/a/organicproduce.htm