Homemakers set to exploit opportunities in O2O era

Conceivably, homemakers will be expected to be aware of early childhood education, dietary supplements and children's health down the line, said 58 Daojia, which claimed it has millions of registered homemakers on its platform, whom it places among its clients.

"We plan to become a platform for professional life services" that integrate technologies, products and human resources. "We will match and dispatch domestic helps by utilizing big data", and help create a potential trillion yuan market in homemaking services, 58 Daojia said.

Since 2016, when the Chinese government started to allow all married couples to have up to two children, relatively more educated and well-settled younger couples with two kids have tended to hire homemakers.

Yet, there is a shortage of professional helps. There is no standardized training in the market. Demand outstrips supply, Wang of Frost& Sullivan said.

More so because by the end of 2017, the number of elderly people aged 60 or above reached 240 million in China, accounting for 17.3 percent of the total population, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The number of elderly people who live alone, those who don't have any children, or those whose children live far away from them is also increasing. So, there is immense room for growth in the elderly care segment of the homemaking services sector.

"Staying at home, instead of going to nursing homes, is the choice for most aged people in China. Elderly nursing services such as cooking, cleaning, escorting the elderly to go to hospitals, and escorting them to exercise, are in high demand," Wang said.

Although the outlook for the nascent sector's future growth is optimistic, poor supervision and absence of an established regulatory environment may pose problems, industry observers said.

Issues like protection for the rights of domestic helps, an effective work assessment system and more promising career development path for homemakers need to be sorted out sooner than later, Wang said.

Earlier this year, Gao Feng, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said that in the past few years, the government released a set of rules and regulations to govern the homemaking services sector. Next, it will step up efforts to set up a comprehensive standard-management system and promote the sector's healthy development.