Weak logistics network thwarts e-commerce boom

Due to lower prices and broader choices, Chinese netizens have been roaming shops online for weeks before the Spring Festival. But for those who are still hesitating about what to buy, their best bet may be at a brick-and-mortar store.
Recently, more of China's online retailers were forced to delay delivery of goods as express companies are severely shorthanded during the shopping season.
Online purchases have surged in recent weeks as people around the country are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 3 this year, leaving the delivery sector running beyond capacity.
"Almost all the parcels we receive these days are from online orders," Wang Xiaohong, customer service manager of the Beijing division of Yuantong Express, told Xinhua.
Inclement weather in China's Guizhou, Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces further stalled the slow traffic.
"Usually I can receive my order from Taobao within three days, but now I have to wait for weeks," complained Nini, who frequents online shops.
Click onto almost every store on Taobao.com, China's largest online retail site, and a notice is posted on the front-page saying ordered goods cannot be sent out starting Jan. 20, despite growing demand nationwide.
The dilemma comes as major private delivery companies, such as Yuantong and Shentong, decided last week to stop accepting new packages in some cities to ensure parcels in the already full warehouses are delivered before the holiday.
The phenomena underscored the fact that China's logistics sector is lagging far behind the country's booming e-commerce market, which has witnessed explosive growth in recent years. That creates a huge challenge for the logistics sector, one of the largest barriers to e-commerce.
Customers have grumbled about the delays and patchy quality in deliveries because of logistics issues.
To ease the bottleneck, Alibaba unveiled a plan on Jan. 19 to invest up to 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) to set up a national warehouse network.
"We hope 10 years from now, anyone placing an online order can receive their goods within eight hours," said Ma Yun, chairman and chief executive of Alibaba.