Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com opened its first offline fresh food supermarket Thursday.
The 7FRESH supermarket covers over 4,000 square meters and is located near JD.com's headquarters in southern Beijing.
About 75 percent of the products in the supermarket are fresh food and most can also bought online via a specific mobile app and delivered within half an hour to areas less than 3 kilometers away. The supermarket even supports payment via facial recognition.
JD.com plans to open 1,000 7FRESH supermarkets across the country in the next three to five years, according to Wang Xiaosong, president of 7FRESH.
Offline fresh food supermarkets are popular among e-commerce players as they respond to the changing domestic retail industry by blending online and offline shopping.
With 25 outlets in seven Chinese cities, Alibaba's Hema supermarket, a similar offline fresh food supermarket, announced plans Wednesday to open 30 more stores in Beijing this year.
