People's Daily Online, Beijing, June 16 (Reporter Xu Weina) In recent years, the offline business formats of the retail industry have been continuously differentiated and reorganized.According to Wind statistics, since 2011, the growth rate of A-share supermarket chain companies has declined from more than 15% in 2011, and has fallen to only 10% in 2020.
Combining various industry analysis reports and data, what new changes will China's retail industry see?Is there still a big opportunity for offline retail?How to break the offline retail in the online era?
Li Yongjian, a professor and doctoral tutor at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with reporters that from the perspective of the entire retail industry, the offline retail industry is still three times larger than the online business. If offline stores can successfully promote model transformation and industrial upgrading, there is no shortage of opportunities for reversal.
Li Yongjian also said that offline stores and online commerce have their own advantages and disadvantages, and the integrated development of online and offline will become the general trend of retail development.
How to correctly understand the phenomenon of offline retail store closures?According to Li Yongjian's analysis, relevant data shows that in 2021, the proportion of 1,011 shopping malls opening and closing in 24 cities across the country will rebound strongly, with more than 50,000 newly opened stores and about 47,000 newly closed stores. , Many brands are expanding rapidly.
"These indicate that the phenomenon of store closures may be more of a business phenomenon than an industry phenomenon." He emphasized.
According to the latest report of Kantar Worldpanel on the Chinese market, in the first quarter of this year, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the decline in offline passenger flow in the retail industry led to a slight decline in sales of hypermarkets and hypermarkets, which was lower than the same period last year. 2.7% and 0.2%.
"But it is worth noting that not all retail companies have shown decline and growth. Some major retailers continued to differentiate, and some offline retail companies that dared to innovate rose against the trend." Li Yongjian said.
Take the Walmart hypermarket as an example, which maintained its growth momentum in the first quarter, with net sales up 7.2% and comparable sales up 4.4%.Among them, the e-commerce business performed well. Walmart China's Q1 e-commerce net sales increased by 89%, and the two-year combined growth rate was 149%.This shows that its online business section and omni-channel integration process have achieved results.
According to the "Top 100 Chinese Chain Stores in 2021" recently released by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA), Walmart has risen from the seventh place at the end of 2020 to the fourth place in 2021, returning to the first place in the supermarket format again.
In the new retail era, how can offline retail stores "turn over"?In this regard, he put forward six thoughts and suggestions: first, identify the profit point and actively change the business model; second, see the power of the product itself and create differentiated product power; third, embrace digital technology and promote refinement and intelligence The fourth is to provide omni-channel services, seamlessly connecting online and offline; the fifth is to optimize supply chain management and strengthen core competitiveness; the sixth is to gain insight into consumers and provide better services and experiences.
Li Yongjian believes that, judging from the innovative practices of Wal-Mart and other retail giants in transforming into modern omni-channel retail companies, offline retail companies have actively introduced digital technologies through the reform of their business models, strengthened their advantages in supply chain and consumer experience, and achieved The seamless connection between online and offline will likely reshape the development path of brick-and-mortar retail.
Li Yongjian said that especially since the epidemic, the large-scale social group buying has declined, many Internet giants and capital have shrunk, and the model of burning money to expand the market has overwhelmed them. Traditional offline retail stores have won the price war in stages. A protracted battle, which provides a good turning point for it to usher in a comeback in the fierce market competition.
