The scale of the real-time retail market in 2022 exceeds 500 billion yuan

Recently, the "Real time Retail Industry Development Report" released by the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce pointed out that in recent years, real-time retail has maintained an average annual growth rate of over 50%. The market size of real-time retail in 2022 has reached 504

Recently, the "Real time Retail Industry Development Report" released by the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce pointed out that in recent years, real-time retail has maintained an average annual growth rate of over 50%. The market size of real-time retail in 2022 has reached 504.286 billion yuan, and it is expected that the market size in 2025 will triple compared to last year. New models of online and offline integration, such as online ordering and instant retail, are becoming a new engine of consumer growth. In the future, the industries and categories of real-time retail penetration will continue to expand, covering more application scenarios.

Online ordering and instant delivery

Recently, mobile phone brands have launched new products, and in many stores across the country, in addition to offline customers, there is also a group of people who are particularly prominent. They are delivery riders waiting for the first pickup and delivery. Nowadays, ordering mobile phones and other items online is just as convenient as ordering takeout.

The reporter searched for a certain mobile phone model on the JD app, and there was a "hourly delivery" option on the page. After clicking on it, there were authorized exclusive stores for various mobile phone brands. Users can choose a store closer to the receiving location. Local speed matching can be delivered within 2 hours or to your doorstep during other designated time periods.

The convenient experience has attracted a large number of users to try it out. On the day of the new machine's launch, 25000 new machines were on the delivery route within 10 minutes on the JD platform alone. This indicates that real-time retail has entered the era of full category hourly delivery, expanding towards a wider region and a wider audience. Based on the pre-sale situation, we have made sufficient stock. Rich localized supply, coupled with convenient hourly delivery services, can meet users' needs for new devices to hand in the first time. "said the person in charge of JD Home 3C Digital.

Not just buying new phones, but in daily life, more and more immediate needs are emerging: when it rains suddenly, place an order for an umbrella; On a business trip, purchase a power bank; Moving to a new home and purchasing a set of cleaning tools... Real time retail is a new retail format that connects local retail supply and meets consumers' real-time needs through real-time logistics fulfillment capabilities.

Generally speaking, consumers place orders on online trading platforms and are picked up by offline physical retailers within 3 to 5 kilometers of the surrounding area. They are delivered to their doorstep through third-party or retailer owned logistics, providing products such as food and beverage, fresh vegetables and fruits, medical health, digital 3C, clothing and home, etc. The delivery time is usually 30-60 minutes. Many consumers who have experienced instant retail lament, "The variety of takeout products is becoming increasingly diverse

Wu Chuanliang, Deputy Director of the Circulation Industry Promotion Center of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that real-time retail is a new retail format and consumption model that relies on internet trading platforms for online ordering, offline delivery, and instant delivery. It has played an important role in smooth circulation, promoting consumption, and ensuring people's livelihoods.

Market size continues to grow rapidly

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in the first half of this year, the national online retail sales reached 7.16 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%. The steady growth of the online retail market has brought good opportunities for the development of instant retail.

According to Xiao Kun, Vice President of Meituan and Head of Flash Shopping Business Department, Meituan Flash Shopping has established partnerships with over 4600 large chain retailers, 370000 local small businesses, and over 350 brand merchants, and the business continues to grow rapidly. In the past four quarters, Meituan's flash purchase scale has reached 175 billion yuan, and it is expected to exceed 400 billion yuan by 2026.

Behind the rapid growth of market size, real-time retail also shows a trend of increasingly diverse product categories, expanding service areas, expanding customer base, and more diverse consumption scenarios.

Taking the Meituan platform as an example, geographically speaking, the user base has spread from high tier cities to low tier cities. Since the beginning of this year, sales growth in fourth tier and below cities has reached 70%. From 2021 to 2023, Meituan flash buying has achieved breakthroughs in terms of product richness and merchant services. In Wangjing, Beijing, in 2021, there were a total of 1300 merchants in the Wangjing area, providing 180000 types of products; This year, the number of merchants providing services has reached 3800, with over 400000 types of products, including high-frequency necessities such as milk and ingredients, as well as high-quality department stores such as mobile phones and high-end cosmetics, with an average delivery time of 30 minutes.

On the JD Home platform, over 400000 offline retail stores have been established, providing consumers in over 2000 counties, districts, and cities across the country with "full category hourly and fastest minute delivery" services. In terms of consumption scenarios, the main consumption scenarios of instant retail are gradually extending from home consumption to other scenarios, such as office buildings and hotels.

Industry insiders believe that the high growth potential of real-time retail comes from scenarios, products, and people. Incremental scenarios drive incremental supply and consumption, and the standardization of local products is conducive to online sales. The cultivation of consumption habits in real-time retail also promotes the development of this industry. As a product of "retail+technology", real-time retail has achieved online transaction processes and convenient delivery, which can effectively enhance local supply capacity and expand consumer demand.

Accelerating Digital Transformation in Traditional Retail Industry

In Tongzhou, Beijing, born in the 1990s, Xiao Liu runs an 80 square meter affordable department store. With the continuous sound of new order prompts from the counter computer, hundreds of delivery orders are delivered from here every day. In Wuhan, Hubei Province, a community grocery store jointly operated by Ms. Zhang and her husband has also hit the internet. Customers within 5 kilometers of the area can shop online, and the small store has been listed on the convenience popularity list of supermarkets in Jianghan District, Wuhan City.

For offline physical retail stores, in the past, their customer base was mainly limited by geographical location, usually residents within a radius of 1 kilometer. The rise of instant retail has opened up a new customer acquisition path for these physical stores, opening up online to offline channels. With the help of intelligent delivery systems, many community small stores have expanded their business scope from 1 kilometer to 5 kilometers, directly expanding their customer base coverage.

Du Guochen, Deputy Director of the E-commerce Research Institute of the International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, stated that developing instant retail can help accelerate the digital transformation of traditional retail industry, promote the development of county-level economy, promote consumption improvement and expansion, increase employment channels, and accelerate the integration of data and reality. In the future, real-time retail will exhibit characteristics such as 24-hour consumption, full scene penetration, full category innovation, full geographical coverage, full supply chain management, and full process digitization.

For the development of real-time retail in the future, experts suggest strengthening planning guidance, doing top-level design, encouraging the integration of data and reality, accelerating the transformation of data and intelligence, and improving the distribution system and promoting low-carbon processes. To help partners provide better goods and services, multiple real-time retail platforms have stated that they will provide support in business models, marketing capabilities, digital systems, and other aspects, further driving the small store economy, promoting the construction of convenient living circles, and accelerating the urban economic microcirculation.

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