Grab, scan and go

Chinese companies are spearheading changes in retail. E-commerce players are developing and purchasing traditional brick-and-mortar stores, whereas traditional retailers are moving their business online.

With retailers aiming for China’s developing middle class and offering higher-end product ranges, there are ample of opportunities for foreign fruit suppliers.

AT PMA Fresh Connections: China, organized in Shenzhen in March this year, the latest trends in China’s retail sector were outlined by a panel of speakers that know this industry inside out.

Erik Li, Vice President Global Sourcing at Yiguo, outlined existing retail models in China, and how the market is changing at an incredibly fast speed.

“Traditionally, shoppers could turn to wet markets, supermarkets and local convenient stores for their day-to-day shopping. In recent years, a number of new models have been explored and added, including B2C (Business to Consumer) online shopping, O2O (Online to Offline) retail models and ‘non-human’ stores that are run entirely through automatic payments,” according to Erik Li.

“In China these new retail models have been adopted quickly, with different large players pioneering new and inventive formats.”

Tmall, Suning, Mr. Fresh and Yiguo are four companies that compete in the B2C retail space.

Consumers can get products through different channels. Each channel is bringing its own value to the consumer, ” says Erik Li. “The power of online to offline retail models is that all customer data can be stored in one local database, whereas customers can be served at front-end stores.”

Erik Li, Yiguo

Grab, scan and go
“Supermarket sales were declining in the past, now with new revamped supermarket initiatives such as Hema Fresh by Alibaba and 7FRESH, by DJ.com, supermarkets are reviving. Consumers enjoy the convenience of grabbing lunch or dinner in their local supermarkets and these new stores offer extensive catering services. Convenience stores attract increasing numbers of shoppers of local shoppers and are key parts of neighborhoods. With online business moving offline, these shops can play a twofold roles of local shop and warehouse to store goods before they are delivered the final mile to the customer’s home. In addition, Yiguo is pioneering non-human shops strategically placed near consumers. At the moment we are running trials with unmanned shops in offices; grab, scan and go.”

“At the moment, it is not clear which of these models will conquer the market, a market that is changing incredibly fast.”

Meanwhile Yiguo, a company that started out as a B2C retailer, is branching out into new commercial endeavors.

Lunch and dinner area at one of Hema Fresh's supermarkets in Shenzhen

Hema Fresh promises at home deliveries within 30 minutes after ordering. The goods are collected in the shop and put in bags, after which they are send to the back of the shop to be prepared for transport along this rail system.

“We are starting to work closer with other companies within the Alibaba group, including supermarket chain Hema Fresh. We have launched Wing Qian Supply Chain (Winged Elephant) and ExFresh to assist global suppliers exporting to China, including customer clearance services. In addition, we can help bring online traffic to physical stores, whereas convenience stores can help us cover the final mile of delivery. The point is, we try to be everywhere.”

Click here for photos take at Chinese retailers Olé, Yonghui Superstores, Pagoda and Hema Fresh