Classified Spatial Clustering and Influencing Factors of New Retail Stores: A Case Study of Freshippo in Shanghai

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study analyzed the spatial clustering characteristics and influencing factors of physical stores of Freshippo from a retail geography perspective. The efforts invested in analyzing the data is applaudable. However, the academic contribution of this study is still not clear enough, especially with the relevance of the existing theoretical foundation in retail geography and spatial statistical methods. The authors claim that "the omnichannel segregates online and offline channels, focusing more on functions of e-commerce and mobile applications". However, this is NOT correct. The omnichannel retail aims to INTEGRATE both online and offline channels, for instance fulfilling online demand from the offline stores. In my opinion, the so called "new retail" in China is not significantly different from the omnichannel retail. One cannot claim originality in research by simply applying existing methods to spatial data from a certain region and describing the spatial pattern of the data. The flow of logic in this manuscript is NOT coherent and arguments are still not strong enough. There are too many logical "jumps" in the manuscript especially in the introduction. It is hard to find the "new knowledge" from this study in reference to the existing literatures.  The abstract, introduction, and conclusion sections should clearly explain and emphasize the research needs, gap in the existing literature, research questions (optional), research objective (clearly stated in one sentence), theoretical contributions, practical or policy implications. 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The quality of English language of currentl manuscript is okay. However, the flow of logic is not coherent. 

Author Response

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Reviewer 2 Report (Previous Reviewer 3)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The latest version of this manuscript shows the potential for publication with minor revisions. My concerns were listed as follows,
1) The legend of Figure 1 must be revised to clearly show the boundaries between urban central districts, the urban periphery, and the outer suburban districts.
In this figure, their boundaries are drawn with dashed rectangles, making it difficult to recognize the difference between them.
2) In section 2.3, a brief description should be added to tell readers how to collect and generate valuable data before explaining four data sets.
In particular, for data #3, the reason for selecting the Luojia-1 nighttime satellite image should be clearly addressed.
3) The authors' definitions of urban, periphery, and outer suburban districts must be consistent with the full text. Please note that Figures 1 and 4 show their different names.

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

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Reviewer 4 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

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Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Title: Classified Spatial Clustering and Influencing Factors of New Retail in Megalopolis: A Case of Freshippo Stores from Shanghai

 

The authors have made great efforts to revise the manuscript. The efforts invested in analyzing the data is also applaudable. However, there are still much room left for improvements. My comments are as follows:

 

1) Avoid using footnotes (p. 2)

In most of the academic journals using footnotes are not encouraged. Authors can include the explanation of the “New Retail” in the main text.

 

2) What exactly are the “3S”? (p. 2, lines 77)

If you are mentioning the acronym for the first time, you need to spell it out first. Then you can use the acronym if it is mentioned in the subsequent text.

 

3) “However, these new retail enterprises still face various challenges.” (p. 2)

What are the challenges of the new retail enterprises? Please explain while citing with the relevant literature. As the authors may know already, establishing an ideal environment for omnichannel retail is very challenging. It requires complete integration of information, logistics, and organization (HR) across different distribution channels. It needs This is easier said than done.

 

4) “However, in-depth empirical case analyses to verify the findings related to new retail formats are still lacking.” (p. 2, lines 85-86)

Are you 100% sure that the in-depth empirical case studies on new retail (omnichannel retail) are lacking? If you search Management Science, IJPDLM, IJRDM, and many other top-tier academic journals, you will find a lot of empirical studies on store & facility locations, market area analysis, warehousing & distribution (W&D), and last-mile delivery related to omnichannel retailing.   

 

5) “Regarding the research findings on new retail formats, some scholars have discussed the correlation between the layout of new retail stores and various factors”. (p 2, lines 86-87)

What do you mean by “the layout” of new retail stores? Do you mean the “locations” or the “spatial distribution” of the retail stores? Usually, the layout of the retail store refers to a map of the interior of the store that displays the various sections, shelves, or fixtures, and the ideal route for customer flow, all about the space available.

 

6) “The Chinese socialist market economy system balances ~” (p. 3, lines 95-103)

I am not sure whether this paragraph is relevant and helpful to the logical progression of arguments in the introduction. I suggest the authors remove this paragraph.

 

7) The footnote in page 3, line 112 is also irrelevant. It reads like a propaganda for the “Freshippo Village”. I suggest the authors remove it from the manuscript.

 

8) “Therefore, considering the representativeness of the study and the gaps in existing research, we choose Freshippo as the research subject.” (p. 3, 116-117)

What exactly are the gaps in the existing research? Please elaborate with the specific examples of the “existing research”.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

OnlymMinor editing of English language required.

Author Response

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This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Title: Classified Spatial Clustering and Influencing Factors of New Retail in Megalopolis: A Case of Freshippo Stores from Shanghai 

This study analyzed the spatial clustering characteristics and influencing factors of the physical stores of Freshippo from a retail geography perspective. The spatial statistical methods applied in this study are sound and logical even though they cannot be claimed to have novelty. The enormous efforts invested in analyzing the data are applaudable. However, the academic contribution of this study is not clear, especially with the relevance of the existing theoretical foundation in retail geography and spatial analytics. One cannot claim originality in research by simply applying existing methods to spatial data from a certain region and describing the spatial pattern of the data. What is the “new knowledge” that the readers can gain from this manuscript? The abstract, introduction, and conclusion sections should clearly explain and emphasize the research needs, gap in the existing literature, research questions (optional), research objective (clearly stated in one sentence), theoretical contributions, and practical (or policy) implications.

 The concept of “New Retail” is not clear. It is explained on page 2, lines 64- 68 that “New Retail” implies integrating online and offline physical stores providing a more convenient shipping experience. Then how is the “New Retail” different from omni-channel retail? I suggest the authors include a literature review section to discuss these issues more in detail and to provide relevance and academic contribution to the existing literature.    

Moreover, this manuscript was submitted to the “Sustainability” journal. However, implications for sustainability are not provided. If the authors cannot claim any policy implications for sustainability, it would be better for this manuscript to be submitted to one of the urban (or retail) geography, urban planning, and retail management-related journals.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The manuscript is too lengthy. The authors should trim any unnecessary and irrelevant statements. In addition, please consider changing the title to a more concise, meaningful, and attractive one.  

 

Author Response

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Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article "Classified Spatial Clustering and Influencing Factors of New Retail in Megalopolis: A Case of Freshippo Stores from Shanghai" seeks to study the spatial dimension of store transformation by taking into account online and offline activities in a territory.

 

The idea is interesting and deserves to be developed. The text and illustrations are generally of good quality.

However, questions remain. We would like to share them with the authors in order to help improve their work.

1. The authors parachute several concepts, tools, materials, without presenting them, explaining them or justifying their use when they are used for the first time. The same remark for the abbreviations (GIS, RS, PC, RCL, NLII, TA, ArcGIS...).

 

2. The authors use areas of Shanghai city that non-Chinese readers are unfamiliar with. there is an effort to be made at this level

 

3. Also, given that the article presents a case in the State of China. It is very interesting to clarify for external readers the economic regime existing in the area studied. Liberal or planned. This question can have a decisive impact on the understanding of the document.

At the same level we do not understand why the authors chose this region in particular.

 

4. Certainly the authors presented statistics on the 10 major Chinese groups in terms of distribution including the “Freshippo” brand. But they did not say and did not present objective criteria to explain why they chose to work on the case of this brand and did not on the others.

 

5.In terms of the results relating to the temporal variation, spatial balance, spatial grouping, adjustment of the layout and the influencing factors of the Freshippo stores classified in Shanghai and despite the tools used and the methods developed, are in fact only observations of what already exists. We are entitled here to ask ourselves the question: are the authors not trying to reinvent the wheel? we must explain what it is for, how these findings can help to make better decisions....for this brand, for other brands and for the city....

 

6. Reading the document, one gets the impression that the cost analysis has been marginalized.

 

7. At the level of section 3.1.2 "Variation Characteristics of Store Numbers in Different Areas". Contrary to its title, this section is essentially a spatial analysis. temporal analysis was only treated in a very secondary manner!!!!

 

8. At the level of the analysis of the balance of the spatial distribution of stores we find ourselves faced with a fundamental problem which refers us to the previous remarks which concern the presentation of tools, methods and concepts.....

At this level and before starting technical elements, it is strongly recommended to focus on the concept of balance and its opposite imbalance. In fact, the authors assume that there is a predefined state of balance (by I don't know who!!!!) that must be achieved and that any situation outside of this supposed balance is considered imbalance. In reality there is balance and imbalance only in relation to the result of the confrontation of supply and demand on a market in a free economy. It is possible that an area is poorly or very poorly served without being able to speak of an imbalance, quite simply because it has no demand and very low demand.

 

9. The study is interesting but the way it is approached makes it complicated and risks being useless, particularly in terms of decision-making. It seeks to explain several factors at the same time by treating different forms of distribution (online and offline) of several products (activities/subsidiaries). this is the strong point of the study and at the same time its weak point. Do the different subsidiaries behave in the same way over time and space? Does the behavior of one necessarily have to have an impact on that of the others? Would it simply no longer be useful and more accessible to consider mobilization by activity/subsidiary and then seek to find interactions between models?

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript is generally well organized. However, I do not recommend its present form for publication. A major revision is required to improve the quality of this manuscript substantially. My concerns were listed as follows,

 

1)       In line 173, the definition of suburban area is not right since the Pudong New Area includes the core area along the Hupu River, which is officially defined as the urban core (Puxi part) of downtown Shanghai. The other area of the Pudong New Area, with a vast extent, is still defined as the outskirts.

2)       In lines 228-232, what is the purpose of using the nighttime human activities? Did the authors detect the diurnal and nocturnal consistency of human activities? Besides, detailed information on the Luojia-1 satellite, such as acquisition date, cloud cover, and threshold for detecting the nighttime lit area, should be elucidated.

3)       In section 2.4, citations across all the equations with descriptions must be referenced properly.

4)       In essence, Fig. 12 visually illustrates the correlation coefficients. Frankly, this study merely performed qualitative analysis rather than using quantitative analysis to yield the results that can be predicted.

5)       Section 5.5 is too short and should be broadened.

6)       The conclusion section is too long. It should be re-organized and concisely addressed to highlight the major findings of this study.

Author Response

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Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors provided extensive revisions after the first round of review. However, most of my comments have not been adequately addressed. This study provided a description of the spatial pattern of 'freshippo' stores in the study region. Why is it necessary to analyze the spatial pattern of 'freshipo' stores? How is this study linked to the existing theory of retail store locations and their market area? How is the 'New Retail' in China different from the omnichannel retail in other countries? The academic contribution of this study is still not clear enough. In other words, relevance, rigor, and the originality of this study is not clear. I asked authors to include a separate section of literature review in my initial review. But the authors did not comply. I found the following similar paper written by the same authors:  

Peng, Wang, and Chen (2023), 'Spatial distribution of frehsippo villages under the degitalization of new retail in China', Sustainability, 15, 3292. 

However, the above paper was not even mentioned as relevant literature in the present manuscript. 

The manuscript is still too lengthy. The first paragraph in the introduction can be removed. The contents shoud be more succintly described and contextualized with respect to the relevant theoretical backgraounds in retail store locations and market areas.  

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The overall English can be improved by paraphrasing some of the sentences. 

Author Response

The authors thank the reviewers for their valuable recognition and encouragement. Your review gives us the confidence to continue our follow-up research.

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Comment 1: The authors provided extensive revisions after the first round of review. However, most of my comments have not been adequately addressed. This study provided a description of the spatial pattern of 'freshippo' stores in the study region. Why is it necessary to analyze the spatial pattern of 'freshipo' stores?

Response: Thank you for your valuable feedback. Based on your suggestions, we provide the following explanations: Firstly, since opening its first store in 2016, “Freshippo” has achieved a total sales volume of 61 billion yuan in just six years, ranking first in the average annual sales growth among “2022 China Chain Stores”. It is the first new retail supermarket in China and the most typical Chinese localized new retail enterprise. This study takes “Freshippo” as an example to explore the spatial layout of new retail stores in urban areas, aiming to reveal the competitive strategies and geographic strategic choices of new retail enterprises in urban spaces. Secondly, by studying the spatial distribution patterns of new retail stores, we can understand the geographic distribution and consumption behavior of consumers, thereby providing more accurate market positioning and services for retail enterprises. Finally, the conclusions of this study can also provide valuable references for urban planning and business development, promoting the sustainable development of urban retail industry. Additionally, this research is closely related to existing theories of retail store location and their market areas. Traditional theories of retail store location typically involve market positioning, site selection decisions, and competitive analysis. However, this study delves into the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of Freshippo stores through field surveys and data analysis. By expanding and empirically researching existing theories, a better understanding of the layout patterns and market behavior of retail stores in urban spaces can be achieved.

2.2. Research Object

In 2015, Freshippo was officially founded. As China's first new retail supermarket, Freshippo focuses on the sales and supply of fresh goods and stands as a typical representative enterprise and innovation pioneer in the Chinese retail market. In 2022, the company achieved a total sales revenue of 61 billion yuan across its 300 stores, ranking first in average annual sales growth among ”2022 China Chain Stores”. By integrating physical stores and online shopping platforms and offering high-quality products and a digitized consumer experience, Freshippo seamlessly merges “people, goods, and places” and successively launched Freshippo stores, X-member stores, mini stores, outlet stores, and neighborhood stores, demonstrating diversity in store development positioning, service quality, and product quality. The characteristics of different types of stores, according to Freshippo classification standards and service functions, are shown in Fig. 2.

 

Fig. 2. Attribute Differences of Different Types of Freshippo Stores

Freshippo Fresh stores are positioned as supermarkets specializing in high-quality fresh products and ingredients. They offer fresh produce, cooked food, self-service meals, and other food items, along with a dining area. Freshippo X membership stores primarily provide high-end consumers with more unique, imported specialty ingredients and gourmet experiences. They are positioned as membership supermarkets for high-quality fresh products and ingredients, featuring special areas like a seafood bar and a wine tasting area. Freshippo mini stores are small community convenience stores offering a quick and convenient shopping experience. They provide basic fresh products, convenience food, and daily necessities to meet customers' daily needs. Freshippo outlet stores, as discount stores, offer discounts and special promotions, with cheaper fresh products and ingredients, suitable for price-sensitive consumers. Freshippo neighborhood stores are positioned as community convenience stores providing customers with convenient, fast, and efficient purchasing services, meeting residents’ immediate needs for daily necessities, quick meals, and basic fresh ingredients.

Table 1. Comparison of Top 10 Chain Enterprises in China in 2022.

Chinese Chain Enterprises	Year of Establishment	Sales Revenue (Billions of RMB)	Number of Stores	Average Sales per Store (Ten Thousand RMB)	Average Annual Growth in Sales Revenue (Billions of RMB)
Shanghai Freshippo Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Freshippo Fresh)	2015	610 (Top 7)	300 (Top 8)	20333 (Top 3)	87.1 (Top 1)

 

Comment 2: How is this study linked to the existing theory of retail store locations and their market area? How is the 'New Retail' in China different from the omnichannel retail in other countries? The academic contribution of this study is still not clear enough. In other words, relevance, rigor, and the originality of this study is not clear. I asked authors to include a separate section of literature review in my initial review. The manuscript is still too lengthy. The first paragraph in the introduction can be removed. The contents shoud be more succintly described and contextualized with respect to the relevant theoretical backgraounds in retail store locations and market areas.  

Response: Thank you for your valuable feedback. Thank you for your valuable feedback. Based on your suggestions, we have further improved the "1. Introduction" section. In recent years, advancements in technology and the rapid growth of internet users have prompted the swift expansion of the new retail model worldwide. China’s 1.092 billion online users contribute 137.78 trillion yuan to the online retail of consumer goods, providing an excellent environment and a solid foundation for the innovative development of retail models. The transformation trend of the Chinese retail industry under the new retail environment, similar to that in other countries, mainly manifests as new retail and omnichannel retail. New retail leverages technologies such as the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence to integrate online and offline channels, achieving comprehensive digitalization, personalization, and contextualization. By establishing convenient transaction channels between the sales end and consumers, it enhances the convenience and efficiency of industry services. Omnichannel retail emphasizes the diversity and interoperability of sales channels, aiming to establish a comprehensive, seamless sales network. However, significant differences exist between new retail and omnichannel retail in the global retail industry. Firstly, the new retail model emphasizes the integration of online and offline channels by combining online platforms and physical stores, achieving full coverage and interactive experiences at the sales end. Secondly, new retail enterprises continuously innovate in logistics distribution, payment methods, and membership services, enhancing consumers' shopping experiences and convenience. Furthermore, the new retail model is more advanced in terms of technology application and data analysis, achieving precision marketing and personalized services through technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. Therefore, the new retail model possesses strong advantages and uniqueness in the innovative transformation path of the global retail industry, which is also a key focus of this research. Additionally, we have streamlined the content of the paper and discussed relevant theories. The specific modifications are as follows:

With the advancement of digital technology, the rapid development of the global digital economy has accelerated. The application of digital technology, as a crucial factor in commodity circulation, drives the transformation of operational models and the overall lifecycle of the industry [1,2]. Increasing industry competition has resulted in the elimination of some enterprises that adhere to traditional retail styles [3,4]. In this process, technological innovation based on the Internet and big data has enabled certain retail formats to stand out from the traditional retail industry [5-7]. Market demand has consistently played a vital role in stimulating industry development, and governments and various entities can support the rapid transformation of some retail industries [8]. Factors such as the development of the international retail industry, regional market conditions [9], investment entities [10], and government policies, are closely related [11,12]. The continuous acceleration of globalization has diversified commercial capital, prompting enterprises to explore innovative retail models as a crucial means to expand market share and improve competitiveness.

Numerous studies indicate that the transformation trend of the retail industry mainly encompasses new retail and omni-channel retail trends. [1,2,13]. However, there are significant differences between new retail and omni-channel retail. Firstly, the new retail model emphasizes the integration of online platforms and physical stores, achieving comprehensive coverage and interactive experiences, while omni-channel retail typically segregates online and offline channels, focusing more on the functions of e-commerce and mobile applications [14-17]. Secondly, new retail enterprises leverage innovative technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to enhance service levels and efficiency, whereas omni-channel retail tends to be more conservative in adopting such technologies [18,19,20]. Additionally, the new retail model focuses on building efficient logistics networks and diverse payment methods to gain consumer loyalty, whereas omni-channel retail relies more on traditional logistics systems and payment methods [21,22]. Therefore, in the new era of retail industry transformation and sustainable development, new retail can be seen as an advanced form or extension of omni-channel retail, and studying the innovative development models of new retail enterprises is of great significance.

The Chinese socialist market economy system balances the dual roles of government leadership and market mechanisms. As a developing country, China aims to build a “dual circulation” pattern, promoting a closer relationship between the development of the retail industry and market demand [23,24], which helps to improve the quality and service functions of the industry. In addition, 1.092 billion online users contributed 13.78 trillion yuan to the online retail sales of consumer goods, laying the foundation for the rapid dissemination of new retail. In 2016, Alibaba proposed the Chinese concept of “new retail”, which has shown obvious advantages and rapid development [25,26]. The public health event of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) has seriously impacted the supply and demand of urban retail [27,28], and traditional retail functions have almost collapsed [29,30], especially in the retail format of fresh products [31,32]. However, the new retail format played a huge role in providing safe and convenient shopping channels [33], with Alibaba’s Freshippo Fresh and others shining through a technology-driven and integrated online and offline application model. Subsequently, with the encouragement and support of the government, new retail quickly spread. Therefore, studying the new retail formats of Chinese local enterprises is significant for the sustainable development of the urban retail economy.

The appropriate site selection is crucial for the survival and development of urban retail stores and has a direct impact on the regional supply-demand balance. Traditional commercial center planning establishes a “core-periphery” connection between commercial centers and consumers within the service range. Adherence to 'classic' planning theories in traditional commercial planning, coupled with managers' blind obedience to market trends, has resulted in a tendency for store location selection to primarily target urban commercial centers and densely populated areas. This has led to severe homogenization competition. In recent years, the impact of e-commerce has further plunged many urban commercial centers into a period of decline [34-36]. For new retail formats, changes in consumer demand and market competition have altered the site selection strategies of physical stores. These strategies now involve support from internet technology, short-term logistics costs, and the distribution of various consumer groups [37-39]. For example, there is greater consideration for the needs and behaviors of consumer groups within the region, selecting areas with well-developed commercial facilities and convenient transportation networks (such as logistics and community nodes) [40-41]. Therefore, the spatial correlation between the “core-periphery” of urban business districts in the new retail environment is undergoing “unbundling”. The interaction law of “consumption-space” poses challenges to the location layout of traditional commercial stores. Existing research, however, lacks attention to the site selection strategies for new retail formats, highlighting the urgent need to clarify the comprehensive impact of factors such as the urban business environment, consumer distribution, road traffic, service industry development level, and spatial distance costs. Exploring the factors influencing the site selection of different types of physical stores in the new retail environment is of great significance for optimizing the site selection strategies of urban retail enterprises and addressing the shortcomings of existing research.

The convenience brought to consumers by the new retail format covers almost all categories of daily necessities, attracting significant attention from the academic, business, and political communities [16,42]. The essence of new retail lies in achieving high efficiency and providing a superior consumer experience, offering an important reference for the transformation and upgrading of traditional retail. Over the past 20 years, China's retail industry has evolved through various phases, including department stores, shopping centers, large markets, and the advent of online shopping [43-48]. However, further research is required to explore strategies for enhancing the social sustainability of the entire supply chain [49]. In terms of the retail end, research mainly revolves around how to achieve cooperative retail strategies among multiple companies, the characteristics of retail methods, and layout factors [50,51]. Regarding the differences in service space between new retail and traditional retail, operational models [52], service concepts [53], and technological innovations [18,54] have been the main focus of research. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the urban layout characteristics of new retail stores and identify the main factors through specific empirical studies. Researchers should clarify the spatial clustering, innovative layout, and significant factors of physical stores to optimize urban commercial space and achieve the sustainable development of new retail.

In summary, considering the representativeness of typical research areas worldwide, this study focuses on the global city Shanghai as the area. Besides, combined with the current development status of Chinese urban new retail, the typical representative of new retail, “Freshippo (China) Co., Ltd.” (hereinafter referred to as “Freshippo stores”), becomes the example. Firstly, this study comprehensively analyzes the changes in the number of Freshippo stores over time, the spatial distribution equilibrium, and spatial clustering characteristics by using GIS technology and statistical methods. Secondly, utilizing multi-source data such as remote sensing images, Points of Interest (POI), and mobile phone signals, a scientific evaluation system is constructed using RS technology and Python technology. Geographic detectors and radar charts are used to quantitatively explore the significant and differential factors influencing the location selection of new retail store formats. Finally, by discussing the clustering characteristics, innovative layout methods, and influencing factors of new retail formats in urban spaces, this study provides corresponding suggestions for the sustainable development of the retail industry transformation. The research conclusions aim to expand existing research in the field of new retail formats, support the transformation and upgrading of traditional retail, optimize urban commercial layout, provide scientific references for enterprise operators, urban managers, and commercial space planners, and promote the sustainable development of the urban retail economy.

 

Comment 3: I found the following similar paper written by the same authors:  Peng, Wang, and Chen (2023), 'Spatial distribution of frehsippo villages under the degitalization of new retail in China', Sustainability, 15, 3292. However, the above paper was not even mentioned as relevant literature in the present manuscript. 

Response: Thank you for your reminder. We have now included a citation to that article.

 

Comment 4: Comments on the Quality of English Language

The overall English can be improved by paraphrasing some of the sentences. 

Response: Thank you for your suggestion. Thank you for your suggestion. Based on your valuable feedback, we have thoroughly reviewed the entire manuscript and made careful revisions to improve the overall quality of the language.

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors responded generally to the questions, comments and suggestions during the review. Consequently, I note an improvement in the text and I grant a favorable opinion for its publication

Author Response

The authors thank the reviewers for their valuable recognition and encouragement. Your review gives us the confidence to continue our follow-up research.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors' efforts to improve the quality of this manuscript are highly appreciated. Now, this revision meets the criteria of publication. Congratulations!

Author Response

The authors thank the reviewers for their valuable recognition and encouragement. Your review gives us the confidence to continue our follow-up research.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx