Attendees at the 22nd Industry Summit of Shaoxing Rice Wine Festival take their seats for the series of informative lectures, Nov 7. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The 22nd Industry Summit of Shaoxing Rice Wine Festival closed with emphasis on the role of e-commerce within the alcohol industry, Nov 7.

Qiu Han, president of Zhejiang Modern Commerce Research Institute,gave one of the most innovative and personable lectures of the afternoonat the Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown Shaoxing.

Qiu wished to emphasize the need for alcohol companies to embrace a separate business model and not simply be lured by contemporary trends.

In his opening remarks, Qiu stated that alcohol sales are based upon the unpredictable, and oftentimes illogical, decisions of people. Although many people like to drink, they seldom plan alcohol consumption in the same manner as someone buying a new coat or a television. Consequently, and in large opposition to market trends, the alcohol industry remains a predominately offlineindustry.

Qiu argued that whereas other industries can rely on a gradual growth of online e-commerce through the natural shifting of modern purchasing habits, the alcohol industry differs and be proactive. He stated the necessity to use online platforms as a means of offering consumers products or experiences that cannot be accessed through going to the local convenience store.

This led Qiu to stress the important potential of Consumer 2 Business (C2B) models as opposed to a more traditional Business 2 Consumer system (B2C). Crucially C2B will allow small businesses to created specialized products.

"The C2B model is expected to become the strength for the alcohol industry and it is this type of e-commerce that will help the business to reform and innovate," he said before noting the great progress still to be made.

"C2B currently only accounts for three percent of alcohol sales within the e-commerce sector. This sector will allow the industry to be driven by customer demand."

Qiu's business focus made for an interesting contrast with the previous speaker Mao Jian who discussed the ways in which using science can invigorate the rice wine industry.

If the rice wine industry is capable of changing is supply chain and encouraging the C2B model there are certainly a plethora of exciting possibilities for the industry with ancient history.