E-commerce booms in Yichang

By Yan Wanqin, Yichang International Communication Studio

Yichang's e-commerce economy has gained momentum thanks to new forms of business such as e-tailing and livestreaming sales.

In 2023, the online retail sales of 336 Yichang enterprises reached 8.81 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion), a year-on-year increase of 30 percent.

Government policies support e-commerce and the city has organized a series of activities to promote digital consumption.

In 2023, the municipal government granted awards and subsidies worth 1.9 million yuan to major e-commerce market players, including two e-commerce enterprises with online retail sales over 100 million, one provincial e-commerce base, and five provincial e-commerce firms.

Yichang also strove to cultivate e-commerce talents. Experts were invited to provide training for over 5,000 talented livestreamers and short video producers.

In 2023, the city carried out 134,000 livestream sales, with sales reaching 1.6 billion yuan, up 44 percent year-on-year.

Livestreaming platform Oriental Selection managed to sell 120,000 units of Zigui navel oranges in just two hours. Meanwhile, Wangjialing Village in Zigui County became the first "Hema" village in the province – a place where farmers grow crops for Alibaba’s high-end retail chain Freshippo.

Offline commerce also remains vigorous. In total, at the end of 2023, the city numbered 35,000 e-stores and brick-and-mortar stores, providing employment opportunities for more than 40,000 people.

Yichang goodies hit the market via both offline promotions and online promotions – such as the online Spring Tea Festival and the Zigui navel orange online live festival.