'Homebound' lifestyle takes off nationwide

Industry insiders said that along with increased prosperity for the fresh food and e-commerce sectors, there are bright prospects for the logistics industry.

Anxin Securities said in a research note that this industry will "embrace a turning point after the outbreak", especially when authorities announce plans to promote contactless deliveries and intelligent lockers.

Contactless deliveries－takeout orders or packages sent to a certain place－are being used increasingly in China to avoid person-to-person contact and to better manage risks during the outbreak, while intelligent lockers are operated by using a pass code and are situated outside residential areas and communities.

Wang Zhibin, a researcher at the National Engineering Laboratory for Logistics Information Technology, said, "Though most consumers choose contactless deliveries to reduce risk and remain safe, they will get into the habit of using such services along with an increasing number of intelligent lockers and other infrastructure being built during the outbreak.

"As a result, the proportion of contactless deliveries is expected to rise, which will further spur the development of intelligent lockers, unmanned aerial vehicles as well as self-driving delivery cars."

During the epidemic, a range of sectors, including real estate, education and restaurants, which traditionally rely heavily on offline sales, have been moving online, with the main aim being to prepare new growth engines.

With schools suspending lessons since Spring Festival, more than 80 educational companies are offering free online courses to the country's student population of 280 million at institutions ranging from kindergartens to universities.