COMPETITION

China’s firms and their global rivals are increasingly looking to tap into overseas market such as South East Asia and India, the most likely battlegrounds for any stand-off.

However, online-offline tieups, even in China, are still at a relatively early stage. Challenges remain with integrating physical store assets to online systems, cutting delivery costs and dealing with fierce competition.

At the Hema seafood market on the east side of Beijing, these challenges - and China’s ambition - are on display. Shoppers peruse fresh fish and clams, but pay with smartphones, scanning QR codes using Alibaba-linked payment platform Alipay as staff in red t-shirts help set up accounts and connect to wifi.

“I don’t think Amazon is competitive in this field... its pages, functions and payments are old fashioned,” said one female shopper in her 20’s with the last name Liu.

“Hema is like Ikea but better... it feels like home.” REUTERS