Street vending economy setting new trends

As China’s economy is recovering from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, the so-called vending economy is in the spotlight with groups and individuals from all walks of life participating. Experts said that the sector may provide employment for 9 million people this year if more support policies are put into place.

Big data shows that in the past seven days, the search popularity of relevant content such as “booth positioning skills” surged 665 percent year-on-year, reaching the highest level in 10 years, according to information that China’s search engine giant Baidu.com sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

Meanwhile, toys, snacks, battery-chargers – words that are related to the street vending business – have also seen an explosive trend in search popularity for those who are in the vending business.

Technology and e-commerce giants including Alibaba, JD.com, Tencent and Meituan-Dianping have announced support measures to help those in the street vending sector, such as easy cash transactions, as the government is set to allow more street vendors to return and remove restrictions in an effort to reboot the economy.

Driven by the booming trend, large catering brands such as KFC and Pizza Hut are making moves to embrace business opportunities by launching street mobile breakfast stalls in cities in China, according to a report that the company sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

Chinese cities previously tightened management of street vendors because of the impact on the urban environment, so the opening-up of this industry will pose higher requirements for urban management.

“More than 9 million jobs will be created this year by street vending businesses, if we fully open up the sector,” said Tian Yun, vice director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association.