Summary of Instant Retail Industry Conference Call Industry Overview - Instant retail has significantly impacted traditional offline supermarkets, particularly large chains like Yonghui and RT-Mart, through store digitization, consumer mindset cultivation, and logistics system development [3][1] - The industry is characterized by two main business models: platform business and self-operated business, with platforms like Meituan, Alibaba's Ele.me, and JD Daojia focusing on information matching and traffic operation, while self-operated businesses emphasize supply chain management [2][12] Key Players and Their Strategies Meituan - Meituan holds a competitive advantage in instant retail due to its extensive coverage of small and medium-sized merchants and a high penetration rate among takeaway users [4][1] - The company enhances its supply chain capabilities through self-operated businesses like Xiaoxiang Supermarket and Happy Monkey Discount Store [4][1] Alibaba - Alibaba expands its reach in instant retail through Ele.me for takeaway services and Taobao Flash Purchase for non-food categories [5][1] - Despite rapid growth through subsidies, Alibaba faces challenges due to differences in consumer mindsets between Taobao users and takeaway users [5][1] JD Daojia - JD Daojia has partnered with regional supermarkets like RT-Mart and Sam's Club, but the decline of some traditional supermarkets has affected its profitability [6][1] - The company maintains market share through 3C electronics and fast-moving consumer goods [6][1] Differences Between Instant Retail and Traditional E-commerce - Instant retail differs from traditional e-commerce in consumer mindset, fulfillment costs, and supply logic, relying more on localized supply and rapid fulfillment rather than scale effects and unlimited SKUs [7][1] - Instant retail emphasizes quick fulfillment and quality assurance over price advantages or product variety [7][1] Future Outlook - The growth of instant retail depends on consumer habit formation, supply fulfillment efficiency improvements, and category expansion, with collaboration with upstream brand manufacturers being crucial [8][1] - The industry is expected to see a compound annual growth rate exceeding 20%, but caution is advised regarding specific data [10][1] E-commerce Platforms' Retail Strategies - E-commerce platforms are entering the retail space to expand market share, primarily targeting urban users with services similar to takeaway, focusing on fewer SKUs and popular products [11][1] - Retail is viewed as a common denominator for all local life categories, with varying penetration depths based on immediacy and emergency needs [11][1] Delivery and Fulfillment Competitiveness - Competition in delivery and fulfillment efficiency among platforms is driven by order density and the number of delivery personnel, influenced by consumer mindset [13][1] - Meituan Flash Purchase enhances its growth through lightning warehouses and franchise models to meet 24-hour convenience demands [13][1]

Core Insights - The "2025 China Baijiu Market Mid-term Research Report" indicates that from January to June, 42.9% of Baijiu production enterprises saw an increase in online business, while 20.0% experienced a decrease, and 37.1% remained stable, suggesting a lack of significant improvement in online business performance [1] - The shift from traditional B2C online sales to an "instant retail" model that integrates offline scenarios, online traffic, and immediate delivery is evident [1][15] E-commerce Evolution - The vertical e-commerce boom in the liquor industry has lasted over 15 years since its inception around 2010 [2] - Notable platforms like "Yemai Jiu" and "Jiuxian.com" emerged, with Jiuxian.com raising over 1 billion yuan in funding by 2014-2015, indicating strong capital support for this new model [3][7] - The rapid growth of vertical e-commerce was highlighted during the 2014 "Double 11" event, where Jiuxian.com sold 4.179 million bottles on Tmall, becoming the top seller in the liquor category [5] Challenges and Adjustments - The liquor industry faced a period of adjustment, with established pricing structures disrupted by emerging vertical e-commerce platforms, leading to conflicts between producers and e-commerce platforms [7] - Several vertical e-commerce platforms struggled to achieve profitability after multiple funding rounds, leading to a decline in confidence from both capital and industry [8] Impact of Live E-commerce - The rise of live e-commerce has posed a new challenge to traditional liquor e-commerce models, with significant growth observed post-2020 due to the pandemic [9][11] - By 2021, the live e-commerce market reached nearly 2 trillion yuan, with a penetration rate of 15%, showcasing the potential of this sales channel [13] - However, issues such as price chaos and trust erosion due to counterfeit products have emerged, complicating the landscape for producers [14] Future Trends - The report forecasts a slowdown in the growth of liquor e-commerce due to changing consumer demands and economic fluctuations, with online sales revenue for 18 A-share listed liquor companies totaling 33.22 billion yuan in 2024, a 3.7% decrease year-on-year [15] - Instant retail is expected to thrive, with a projected market size of 1 trillion yuan by 2025 and 2 trillion yuan by 2030, driven by the demand for quick delivery and convenience [16][20] - The liquor industry is likely to evolve towards a new consumption era characterized by instant retail, scenario integration, and live e-commerce as growth engines [20]

Core Insights - The core argument is that instant retail and traditional e-commerce are not in a zero-sum game, but rather represent different branches of the broader e-commerce ecosystem, with instant retail addressing immediate consumer needs that traditional e-commerce struggles to fulfill [2][15]. Retail Evolution - The retail ecosystem has evolved from offline to online and now to instant retail, with offline retail still holding a significant market share of over 60% in China's retail market, projected to reach 47.14 trillion yuan in 2024 [3]. - Traditional e-commerce has reshaped the retail landscape over the past two decades, with a market size exceeding 15 trillion yuan by the end of 2024, focusing on planned purchases and price advantages [5]. Instant Retail Growth - Instant retail has rapidly gained traction, with a market size of 650 billion yuan in 2023, expected to surpass 1 trillion yuan by 2025, driven by platforms like Meituan and JD [6]. - It addresses immediate consumer needs, such as urgent grocery items or medicines, filling a gap left by traditional retail in terms of timely response [6][12]. Complementary Nature - Instant retail focuses on immediate needs, while traditional e-commerce targets planned purchases, creating a complementary relationship rather than a competitive one [7][8]. - The supply chain for traditional e-commerce relies on national logistics networks, while instant retail utilizes local stores and warehouses to meet high-frequency, urgent demands [9]. Market Dynamics - As of 2024, instant retail's market size is approximately 800 billion yuan, indicating it is still in its growth phase compared to traditional e-commerce and offline retail [12]. - The future growth of instant retail will involve integrating with traditional e-commerce and offline retail, enhancing service offerings to meet both planned and immediate consumer needs [13][14]. Future Outlook - The long-term market structure is expected to stabilize into a "three-way split," with offline retail focusing on experiential shopping, traditional e-commerce on planned purchases, and instant retail on urgent needs, each serving distinct consumer demands [14][15]. - The evolution of the retail ecosystem will be characterized by digital integration, allowing for a more seamless consumer experience across different retail formats [15].