A SPECIAL MARKET
Why is China's retail landscape so different? A basic fact is that China's upgrading consumption structure is gravitating the retail industry toward an emphasis on convenience, diversity and hands-on experience.
China is mobile-first, and mobile payments have fueled the e-commerce revolution in China. With mobile payment penetration at 86 percent, the country is virtually cashless, according to a report by research firm Gartner L2.
"Mobile payments facilitate both online and offline commerce, provide access and purchasing power to the unbanked and have transformed consumer engagement across the board," said the report, which also highlighted China's pace of innovation, tech giant's impact on retail, the prevailing same-day delivery and shopping-as-entertainment through live-streaming.
Adaptation to the rapidly changing market is high on the agenda. ALDI's new stores in Shanghai feature an integrated online to offline retail experience through the "Scan & Go" function on its WeChat mini-program and instant delivery services within three kilometers of the stores.
METRO AG, a leading international company in wholesale and food retail, in October agreed to a transaction and strategic partnership with Wumei Technology Group (Wumei), whereby METRO AG will sell its entire stake in METRO China and receive a 20 percent stake in a resulting joint venture.
"After assessing various options, we have chosen a path that will further strengthen METRO China's role for consumers," said Olaf Koch, CEO of METRO AG.
Wumei and its technology partner Dmall will bring "new retail" expertise that blends offline and online services which will benefit METRO China by expanding its customer reach and accelerating growth in China's rapidly evolving market.
"The retail market is mainly driven by two factors: demand and technological innovation," Chen Xinkang, head of the Shanghai Marketing Association, told Xinhua in an interview.
"China is seeing an obvious trend of trading-up. In the meantime, the development of retail will be affected by big data technology and intelligent technology, as more innovations will be seen in terms of customized, convenient and intelligent business models," Chen said.
