Chapter 153: Group Buying in the Snow Goes Online
After a flurry of heavy snowfall, the essence of winter immediately intensified. Temperatures in Linchuan plummeted, and many students who still had classes wished they could leave their homes wrapped in their blankets.
Those without classes, after opening their windows to let in the cold air, quickly abandoned any thoughts of going out.
Even Cao, known for his expertise in romance, curled up in his dorm, hesitating to step outside after being berated by Ding Xue that morning, who had exclaimed, Its so cold, and you still want to date? Do you want to freeze me to death!
It was on this snowy day that Jiang Qins group buying platform launched precisely at 7:00 AM, opening both registration and ordering portals and integrating with the Zhihu forum, occupying half of the homepage with its advertisement.
Instantly, the forums usual sky-blue homepage transformed into a bright yellow, matching the theme of the group buying platform. This sudden change in color scheme was striking.
Everyone was accustomed to the sky-blue forum, so logging in to find the homepages color changed definitely sparked curiosity. The prominently displayed group buying platform easily caught everyones attention, serving as a basic method of drawing in traffic.
Guys, its too cold outside, and I dont have classes today. I dont even want to leave my bed. Im going to order food through the group buying platform and stay in tonight!
Damn, one blanket is clearly not enough. Am I going to freeze to death tonight? Ill buy another one from the group buying platform, and theres even a 20% discount!
Its my girlfriends birthday today, and I didnt have time to order a cake. I just placed an order through the group buying platform!
Its too cold. Ill buy some cotton shoes on the group buying platform.
The group buying platform delivers at 8 AM, 12 PM, and 8 PM every day. Guys, hurry up and place your orders. Dont miss out!
New users get a 20% discount. Holy shit, they even deliver to the dormitory building. Thats so convenient!
Inside Startup Base 208, the sound of keyboards clattered continuously.
The content team, organized by Lu Feiyu, drained their creative juices, using different accounts to constantly boost the presence of the group buying platform on the forum.
Since the group buying delivery service had been previously hyped, forum users were easily drawn into the discussion.
Is the group buying platform finally launching? So soon?
They deliver to the dormitory? Really?
In this cold weather, I dont have a partner, so why go out? Ill order lunch and give it a try!
I just registered, and theres a coat in the mall that I had seen before. Its discounted by 100 yuan. Is this for real?
Can I buy sanitary pads too? Our dorm is too far from the supermarket. This is a lifesaver!
Really, they deliver? And there are discounts? Sounds a bit unbelievable.
Lets order some instant noodles and give it a try!
As the marketing efforts continued, the number of registrations on the group buying platforms backend began to climb rapidly.
Su Nai, on the other side, constantly refreshed the backend data, reporting the traffic situation to everyone in 208.
Everyone in the office was bustling with activity. This sight also stirred a sense of excitement in Cao Xinyue, Hong Yan, and Tang Lin, who were there for different reasons.
They had come to 208 partly to ride on the coattails of the buzz and partly to work on a PowerPoint presentation, unrelated to the group buying project.
Aside from being somewhat nervous due to the others influence, they were also curious.
Will people really be willing to try online shopping?
In this kind of weather, I guess many would be willing to give it a try.
He came from a poor mountainous area, with an older sister and a younger brother still in elementary school.
To gather tuition and living expenses, he had been working part-time near the school since his freshman year.
He had distributed flyers, worked as a server in the school cafeteria, and even moved goods in the city center during holidays. He would do anything to earn money.
However, with the increasingly cold weather, it was harder to find odd jobs. He had planned to take a break, reward himself with a sleep-in, and read some novels. But then he came across the job posting for a part-time courier offering good pay. Just todays bonus alone equaled his weekly living expenses.
Moreover, apart from the cold, the job was relatively easy.
He just needed to collect and check goods according to the order list and then deliver them to the three dormitories he was responsible for. It was much more comfortable than the manual labor he had done.
But would people really be willing to shop online?
Tian Xiangjia couldnt be sure and could only wait and see.
Buzz
Half an hour later, he received a long text message on his phone, listing various goods and quantities.
Tian Xiangjia immediately perked up, donned a thick woolen hat, covered it with a yellow baseball cap, and wobbled into the street on his tricycle.
There were a dozen others similarly equipped, and they couldnt help but greet each other when they met.
After passing by the target stores, Tian Xiangjia loudly announced the pickup code sent with the text message. The store owners promptly handed over the packaged goods, and after verifying the contents, the first part of the process was completed.
In Building 7, six quilts, eight blankets, thirteen pairs of cotton slippers
In Building 8, three quilts, one blanket, eight pairs of cotton slippers, and twenty pairs of thick cotton socks
Tian Xiangjia mumbled these details to himself, and after reciting them, he tucked his phone into his pocket and left the daily goods store, quickly heading to the next stop.
Meanwhile, inside the college supermarket.
Jiang Zhihua watched as three part-time students in hats came in and left with bag after bag of goods. Her gaze became extremely complex.
From her many years of experience in business, she knew that business was usually poor during heavy snowfalls, as few college students were willing to venture out in the cold weather.
But today, when she received the delivery list, she was genuinely shocked.
Instant noodles, cola, cigarettes, lighters, ham sausages
Especially the newly stocked hand warmers they were taken away before she even had a chance to display them, with the delivery guys in yellow hats moving entire boxes.
Although these goods were sold at cost price, making her only a small profit, the scene opened her eyes to infinite possibilities.
People are becoming increasingly lazy, and once they experience convenience, theyre likely to become dependent on it.
Some say technology changes life, but in reality, technology caters to laziness. Its human laziness that truly changes life.
If shopping obstacles related to time and space are reduced, and one can get what they want just by lifting a finger, its not just a change in the sales model, but also a potential exponential increase in sales volume.
I got played by Jiang Qin, but it doesnt seem like a loss
Are there so many people wanting to drink cola on a snowy day?
The instant noodles are almost out of stock, I need to call and restock immediately.
Jiang Zhihua mumbled to herself, her expression turning even more complex when she passed by the milk tea bar and saw a stack of cups bearing Jiang Qins name.
