BEIJING—There’s a street in Wangjing, an area northeast of Beijing where many tech companies are located, dubbed “ground promotion street.”
Until recently, you could walk down that street and run into at least 30 promotion stands within 100 meters. As you passed them by, the salespeople—mostly young women—would ask you to scan a code to download their apps or subscribe to the company’s account. In return, the women would give out small gadgets like dolls, headsets or T-shirts.
