China has seen a flurry of modern retail concepts over the past couple of years. Born in part out of the struggle traditional retail formats have had to stay relevant, as e-commerce so heavily penetrated the retail space across all categories. Modern retail formats that we will explore here include "new retail", "social commerce" and "unmanned stores".
"New retail" is a retail experience that integrates online, offline, logistics and data, such as Hema or Riso. Put simply, physical supermarkets with added digital features like scannable QR codes with product information, APP ordering and delivery and automated logistics systems. Most major retail groups are investing in "New Retail" development to keep up with the times, or partnering with e-commerce players to digitalise their current offering.
"Social commerce" platforms like Penguin Guide and Yitiao are retailers who started as content providers to gain a strong following of fans in a certain demographic, and then once they had built trust, added a retail function on their app. Their background is not in retail but digital marketing.
"Unmanned stores" as the name suggests are stores that are fully automated, with no service staff. To date most unmanned stores are small outlets similar to a convenience store with digital payment options.
