Cybercafes losing business to smartphones

Young clients

The cybercafes are not so attractive to the users as they used to be since most of their functions have been replaced by mobile Internet devices, said Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research, a third-party data mining and integrated marketing agency in the mobile internet.

The main clients are young people who play intricate video games since cyberbars provide larger LED screens and fast downloads, he said.

At the same time, he said, most of the online game producers are focusing more on the development of smartphone games, which makes the cybercafes more difficult to survive.

Han agreed she had to make some changes, or her cyberbar would have likely gone out of business in the next several years.

To make her business more attractive, Han installed a coffee machine four months ago. The decision proved to be wise and popular, yet not able to reverse the overall trend.

"The golden days have passed. It's impossible to earn money easily like we did in the past," she said.

She noticed that in some big cities like Shanghai and Hangzhou, many cybercafes have been replaced by cafes with computer and Internet facilities, where people can have a cup of coffee like at Starbucks while at the same time play games.

"I'm also thinking of changing into a cyber coffee bar model," she said.

Even though lots of cyberbars have gone bankrupt, Han said she was optimistic because of the fast Internet speed and high-digital screens.

"Many people went to the cyberbars for online shopping frenzy during an industry fair on Nov 11, because with the high Internet speed, they could buy some limited products more easily," she said.