(Yicai Global) Feb. 20 -- People in China have used their time at home during this year's coronavirus-hit Chinese New Year by cooking new recipes, buying groceries online, and boosting their vitamin C intake, according to a Big Data study.

From Jan. 24 to Feb. 10, online searches for baking ingredients climbed by 100 times on Meituan Dianping from a year earlier, the Beijing-based lifestyle and delivery platform operator said in a report. Sales of yeast surged by nearly 40 times and that of dumpling wrappers rose by eightfold.

China prolonged its Spring Festival holiday due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which has resulted in rising demand for delivery services. Although the holiday is over, many companies still encourage their employees to work from home.

More than half of the report's grocery shoppers were born after the 1990s, boosting sales of instant noodles, dried tofu, and leafy greens. The post-80s generation came next by making up more than a third of the total.

People stocked up on the basics of Chinese cuisine. About 3.9 million packs containing scallions, ginger and garlic were sold. Sales of condiments, such as soy sauce and vinegar, climbed by eight times.

Over the same period, sales of vegetables, meat, and seafood tripled. Some of the most popular items were leafy greens, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and carrots. Chinese hairy crabs and other seafood were sold nearly four times more than usual.

The platform also delivered other equipment to cope with the outbreak. Consumers bought more than 5 million of face masks and almost 200,000 units of Vitamin C products on Meituan. Sales of traditional Chinese medicine used to treat the common cold or fever exceeded 200,000 units.

Four-fifths of the orders were placed with a wish for the driver to drop off the goods by the door without meeting the receiver to avoid transmission risks.

Editor: Emmi Laine