Since the COVID-19 outbreak in late January, Li Xuejia, 35, a financial magazine editor in Beijing, has seldom visited her neighborhood supermarkets for fresh food. Like everything else in China these days, fresh food can now be bought online. And mobile apps specializing in this niche are laughing all the way to the bank.

Li probably knows why. "I avoid going out (to maintain social distancing) and prefer to buy fresh vegetables, fruit, milk, meat and rice on online fresh food platforms such as JD Daojia and Miss Fresh. I choose their quick delivery service," said Li, referring to apps' one-hour drop-off feature.

Like Li, hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers would vouch for the efficiency and reliability of the emerging online services sector. Their demand for fresh food deliveries surged in recent months in the wake of the pandemic.

In the first half of this year, Dada Group, China's leading local on-demand delivery and retail platform, recorded an increase in demand for its services as more people shopped online for daily necessities, including groceries, fresh produce, healthcare and household products.