THE digital economy has boomed and is playing an increasingly important role in hedging economic risks as many people were required to remain at home for self-quarantine and some industries were in temporary stagnation due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic outbreak.

In an effective effort to prevent crowds and control the spread of COVID-19, many Chinese are avoiding going outdoors, driving the vigorous development of fresh food delivery and online learning, shopping and gaming.

According to a report by the Shenzhen Economy Daily Wednesday, quoting data from e-commerce giant JD.com, sales on its online food platform grew by 215 percent year-on-year from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2, with more than 19,000 tons of fresh cereals, 15,000 tons of fresh products, 5.9 million liters of edible products and 15 million packets of instant noodles sold.

Data from Dingdong Maicai, a fresh vegetable e-commerce platform, showed the amount of each order nearly doubled to 100 yuan (US$14.35) between Jan. 24 and Feb. 2 compared to only 60-70 yuan in previous weeks.

Facing a substantial increase in business volume, some delivery platforms have adopted measures to cope with the issue of being short-handed.

The quarantine requirements have stimulated new demand for delivery. No-contact delivery points (property management-designated spots at area entrances) have been established at which buyers to pick up commodities left by couriers.

Using its strong supply chain capacity, Suning.com in Shenzhen is attempting to ensure fresh food delivery within an hour.

Besides online shopping, online learning, gaming and entertainment have also surged.

Online gaming company 37 Interactive Entertainment is offering online programming courses to students free of charge during the epidemic prevention and control period. The company vice president Li Junquan said the free online courses will be help children form good habits and in the long term will be good for the company’s online education projects.

Telecommuting is another new trend that spiked during the epidemic period as many companies adopted flexible working hours and allowed employees to work from home. Shenzhen also issued a letter to all enterprises in the city, encouraging them to take measures like telecommuting to prevent meetings and crowding amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Compared with the SARS outbreak in 2003 and with the fast development of e-commerce, the stay-at-home economy has become a driving force for a new business mode to offset the impact of the coronavirus disease,” Chen Haiquan, professor with Jinan University and dean of Guangdong Asia-Pacific E-Commerce Research Institute, said.  (Han Ximin)