If one of the prevailing phrases of the late 2000s/early 2010s was "there's an app for that," then the 2017 version would probably be "there's a shared economy app for that."
These days, China's sharing economy fad seems to have taken a turn for the ridiculous with recent debut of umbrella, basketball and phone battery sharing startups. Seriously.
🔽 Here's a look at some of the things you can now rent with sharing apps in China.
Bike-sharing 🚲
Chinese version of bike-sharing has given a whole new meaning to the concept, with customers able to pick a bike anywhere in the city (thanks to the GPS-enabled app) and leave it anywhere at the end of their journey.
The concept is all the rage among students and young professionals across the nation for being convenient, green and cheap. An average 30-minute ride costs 0.5 RMB ($7 cents) to 1RMB.
Shared bikes have become the newest battlefield for global capital, with large amounts of investment flowing into the billing-on-time bike-rental mobile applications.
Umbrella-sharing 🌂
Molisan, a Shanghai-based start-up, has launched umbrella-sharing services in the metro of Guangzhou(Guangdong province), and Fuzhou(Fujian province).
Customers can rent umbrellas by paying a refundable deposit and scanning a QR code.
The scheme charges a 20RMB ($2.90) deposit payable via WeChat. The rental period is 15 days, which renters can renew for three additional days after which they will be charged a late penalty of 0.5RMB per day.
Charger-sharing 📱
Perhaps a testament to the proliferation of smartphones in China, a number of battery pack share and charging station services have recently debuted, with as many as 10 such services already launched or in the works.
Similar to the other shared apps, users either rent battery packs or plug their phones into the physical charging stations that have recently been popping up at bus stops, malls and restaurants. The charging areas can be located through an app.
Upon scanning a QR code, they pay a small rental fee through mobile payment apps like WeChat Pay or Alipay. The batteries can rented for as low as 1RMB/hour and then dropped off anywhere after use.
Basketball-sharing 🏀
A company in Jiaxing(Zhejiang province), recently launched a basketball-sharing service.
The company has introduced several pilot lockers with basketballs at the city's public and campus courts.
Users can borrow and return a basketball through the company's WeChat account after paying a 29RMB ($4.2) deposit. One basketball costs 1.5RMB for half an hour.
Source: That'sPRD/NewsGD
HACOS,Business Services Solutions Master