Beijing’s Smogpocalypse Slows Shipping of Xiaomi Handsets (and Probably Others Too)

via Global Times

Xiaomi’s M1 is just a couple weeks from being publicly available, but the company says it has already shipped more than 100,000 units to preorder customers, and will continue shipping this month. Unfortunately, at present, shipments to some parts of the country are being delayed by the horrific cloud of smog that has descended on Beijing.

The smog, which has enshrouded the capital since Sunday, has already resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and additional delays. Numerous highways are also closed because visibility in some areas of the city is below 500 meters. Xiaomi says this is affecting their shipping to all parts of the country, and expects products to be arriving a few days later than previously promised.

Although Xiaomi is openly talking about it, the smog has likely slowed shipments for every e-commerce company with hubs in Beijing. The delays are unlikely to have a serious effect on anyone’s bottom line, but they do underscore one of the ways in which Beijing’s serious pollution problem affects more than just the battered lungs of its denizens.

There is, however, one small segment of the e-commerce market that’s booming thanks to the thick smog. Online shops that offer pollution-blocking masks are doing a booming trade, with one vendor interviewed by the Global Times saying that their shop sold over a hundred masks on Monday, noting that on an average day, they sold just one.

[Via TechWeb and Global Times]