One evening, Joe Zhou returned to his Beijing apartment to find a mountain of packages at his door, so high he could barely get through. This wasn’t an unusual sight; he had ordered everything from appliances to furniture for his newly renovated home online. This scene is a common occurrence across the country, where China’s courier sector is booming alongside the relentless growth of e-commerce.
China courier delivery service
The State Post Bureau announced a landmark achievement this week — over 100 billion parcels delivered this year, a milestone reached 71 days earlier than in 2023. This translates to an astonishing 71.43 packages per person, with 5,144 parcels being delivered every second, and 440 million packages moving across China daily.
China leads the world in e-commerce, with companies like Alibaba, JD.com, and PDD dominating the sector. Alibaba, the owner of the South China Morning Post, is a household name. The Ministry of Commerce reported online retail sales of 15.4 trillion yuan (US$2.1 trillion) in 2023, a 11% growth, solidifying China’s global lead for the 11th year in a row.
However, this surge in deliveries has come at a cost for courier companies, as a price war has eroded profits. To gain market share, couriers have slashed prices, leading to unsustainable levels and pushing smaller firms to the brink. Major courier companies like STO Express, Yunda, and YTO reported declines in revenue per parcel last year.
The increase in parcel numbers is also fuelled by higher product returns. Some sellers experience return rates of around 60%, with women’s clothing seeing rates as high as 80-90% during peak periods. Cherry Wang, a Chengdu resident, is among those who return clothes frequently, with a return rate of up to 70% during shopping seasons.
China’s e-commerce prowess
The rapid growth of the courier sector is attributed to the development of transport infrastructure, especially in rural areas. China courier services have established over 1,200 county-level public delivery centres and more than 300,000 logistics service stations for villages, leading to a tenfold increase in rural parcel volume over the past decade.
Courier companies are investing in technology and logistics, particularly in the less densely populated western regions, where delivery times have been slashed from a week to just two or three days.
This transformation in China’s delivery landscape demonstrates the country’s e-commerce prowess and its commitment to innovation and efficiency in logistics.