@tiger

Sanitary benefits would be another. They may justify the markup for some. Shrink-wrapping would protect individual fruit or vegetable from the sneeze of an under the weather shopping patron. Furthermore, who knows where those unwashed cucumber or cherry fondling hands have been. The first time I witnessed shrink-wrapping produce was in Tokyo and Osaka over 15 years ago. Japanese societies are obsessed with hygiene.

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@JanJal

Like your wife, I too hoard recyclable containers into a manageable pile before taking them out to the communal waste bins. Not just for my own convenience, but to make life easier for the janitress. They recycle the building's collective plastics & cardboard boxes as revenue on the side. Otherwise, these 保洁阿姨 will have to unpleasantly sift through the trash to fish them out individually. Acts of compassion on our part. Food for thought as we dispense our O2O (online to offline) 11/11 boxes.

Regarding plastic alternatives, it's not so much energy economics as public health. Studies have shown the incineration of plastic release unhealthy byproducts into the air we breathe. Lung cancer is already major problem for the Chinese. The most common type of cancer in China in fact.

The implementation of machine learning in automated supermarket inventory management seeks to reduce wastes by maximizing asset turnover ratio and minimizing spoilage. To say nothing of tempering overhead costs and shrinkage compared to traditional supermarkets for a more evolved business model.

More than a decade ago, high-end supermarket chains in Japan, Singapore, S. Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have already adopted the strategy of prolonging expiration of perishable produce items by shrink-wrapping them per individual basis.

China's accumulation of global plastic waste is nothing new, granted the dawn of food delivery services such as Meituan and Ele.me is adding to plastic containers' recycling & disposal collective action dilemma.

Perhaps packaging in biodegradable plastic alternatives would be a sustainable game-changer for Hema.

No robot bartender like the one in Passengers? lol

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As we wait for our packages, here's a look at the logistical feat of Cainiao's (acquired by Alibaba last year) automated warehouse (similar to Amazon's):

www.alizila.com/cainiao-gears-up-for-2018-11-11/

(alizila.com is the official news liaison of Alibaba Group)

Although an impressive new global sales record of USD30B, which is a 27% increase from last year. A steep drop compared to the 40% growth rate from '16 to '17.

The RMB devaluation, trade war, sagging stock & housing market probably played a part on aggregate consumer spending.

Nevertheless, from an individual splurging standpoint, I reaped great deals on household necessities such as Listerine, Move Free supplements, milk, tissue papers, appliances, furniture, what not.

Getting ready for 12/12! lol

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Btw, Alibaba's futuristic supermarket is coming to Kunming soon, rumored to be built just south of city-center's pedestrian street.

Here's an in-depth look at the AI-driven Hema Supermarket:

www.cnbc.com/[...]

Copchecks & courtesy calls are probably just new protocol by local police. Nothing to fret about on an individual basis. Like all the newly installed street cameras & VPN outages, it's part of a wider surveillance upgrade in South of the Clouds.

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Wiping OS is a bit premature. Like getting chemo without proper diagnosis from an oncologist. Though as a general rule, good cyber security hygiene goes a long way, paranoid or not.

First of all, upgrade your antivirus on both your laptop and phone. Install the best AV on the market, Bitdefender Total Security 2019. Special link for free 3-month trial:

www.bitdefender.com/site/Facebook/redFreeDownload

2. Use Lastpass to handle all your passwords.

3. Install Keyscrambler Pro to encrypt your keystrokes to thwart any keyloggers, which can easily sneak into your system if you exhibit unsafe browsing habit.

Here's a download link (w/ attached serial text file):

we.tl/t-7kQxqjVKGQ

4. Yahoo accounts are consistently compromised. Such that they will force you to reenter pisswords only to be compromised again. Switch go Google services if possible.

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Stay well alien!