Get Fresh Fruit Delivered to Your Door via WeChat with Yimixian
I live in a bustling neighborhood with a major public hospital, so you would think that getting groceries is a straightforward task. Not so – fruit vendors cater mostly to hospital visitors with overpriced gift baskets and the nearest wet market is across a major thoroughfare. I once got into an argument with a fruit stand that charged me RMB 6 for two bananas.
Recently, I tried a fruit delivery app called Yimixian. The company's ethos is "freshness, quality, safety, and health," and currently operates in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Nanjing with plans to expand to other Chinese cities.
Yimixian has its own cold chain system and picks all fruits before dawn to ensure integrity. Products are also carefully packaged for delivery (a bit over-packaged, chides my treehugging side).
Orders can be made through Yimixian's WeChat store (account name: yimixianlife) and the app (available for iOS and Android). The WeChat interface was a bit glitchy on my iPhone 5, so I used the app instead.
The first step is to sign up. Enter your mobile phone number, then the verification code that texted to you. Then you'll be asked to enter your address in Chinese.
The main screen classifies fruits according to category. The first three (see green box) are current deals and popular fruits: 特价换购 (special prices on specific fruits if the bill total meets a minimum amount), 限时抢购 (time-limited offers), and "Top 10" (self-explanatory).
The next three sections rather arbitrarily classify products according to shape: 圆圆的 (round fruits like apples, pears, and oranges), 带串的 (clustered fruits like grapes, field cherries, and bananas), and 大个的 (large fruits like papaya and dragon fruit).
The last category, 超值套餐, gathers good-value fruit "combos."
When you're ready to check out, you'll be asked to confirm your address and choose a time range for the delivery as well as a payment method (WeChat Wallet or Alipay).
The second half of the checkout screen details your order contents and any discounts you're entitled to. When you're ready, click the orange button and you're done! Await your delicious fruit order.
In addition to app-only deals, Yimixian members are often notified about other promotions through SMS. On Wednesdays, for example, you get RMB 15 off your total bill if you spend RMB 30 or RMB 10 off if you spend RMB 25.
This article first appeared on our sister site beijingkids.
Images: Celeste Lindell (Flickr), screenshots by Sijia Chen
