---
title: "31 Trends in Traditional Channels Over the Next Decade: The Future Won't Need So Many Distributors, Second-Tier Dealers, Outlets, or Even Sales Representatives"
description: "The article outlines 31 trends in traditional distribution channels over the next decade, predicting a significant reduction in the number of distributors, second-tier dealers, and retail outlets, as well as sales representatives, due to the rise of e-commerce, mobile technology, and data-driven operations. It covers changes in distributor, second-tier dealer, and terminal channel trends, as well as transformations in physical stores."
author: "李政权"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-12-03"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/31-trends-in-traditional-channels-over-the-next-decade-the-future-won-t-052e821f/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/31-trends-in-traditional-channels-over-the-next-decade-the-future-won-t-052e821f.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/_v0VRYODKvoYvNRNRifnrg"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E6%9C%AA%E6%9D%A5%E5%8D%81%E5%B9%B4%E4%BC%A0%E7%BB%9F%E6%B8%A0%E9%81%93%E7%9A%8431%E4%B8%AA%E6%BC%94%E5%8F%98%E8%B6%8B%E5%8A%BF-%E6%9C%AA%E6%9D%A5%E4%B8%8D%E9%9C%80%E8%A6%81%E9%82%A3%E4%B9%88%E5%A4%9A%E7%BB%8F%E9%94%80%E5%95%86-%E4%BA%8C%E6%89%B9%E5%95%86-%E7%BB%88%E7%AB%AF-%E7%94%9A%E8%87%B3%E4%B9%9F%E4%B8%8D%E9%9C%80%E8%A6%81%E9%82%A3%E4%B9%88%E5%A4%9A%E4%B8%9A%E5%8A%A1%E4%BB%A3%E8%A1%A8%E4%BA%86-052e821f.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/31-trends-in-traditional-channels-over-the-next-decade-the-future-won-t-052e821f/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# 31 Trends in Traditional Channels Over the Next Decade: The Future Won't Need So Many Distributors, Second-Tier Dealers, Outlets, or Even Sales Representatives

> The article outlines 31 trends in traditional distribution channels over the next decade, predicting a significant reduction in the number of distributors, second-tier dealers, and retail outlets, as well as sales representatives, due to the rise of e-commerce, mobile technology, and data-driven operations. It covers changes in distributor, second-tier dealer, and terminal channel trends, as well as transformations in physical stores.

**I. Trends in Distributor Channel Evolution**
1. End customers will increasingly place orders directly with manufacturers via the internet, leading to the mass extinction of traditional middleman distributors.
2. Marketing management systems based on mobile terminals will become widespread.
3. Distributor management will become e-commerce-oriented, with back-end sorting and separation of personnel from vehicles in sales becoming common.
4. A large number of traditional distributors will transform into service-oriented enterprises focused on offline execution.
5. Traditional distributors will increasingly compete with retail outlets for business.
6. More distributors will engage in online distribution, starting O2O practices.
7. New technologies and platforms will change the way distributors operate.

**II. Trends in Second-Tier Dealer Channel Evolution**
8. Second-tier dealers will become more like distributors.
9. Second-tier dealers will continue to be marginalized, with a clear trend of moving down to township, town, and village markets—areas that distributors currently lack the capacity or willingness to cover due to cost-benefit considerations.
10. Second-tier dealers will not be "blocked out" by manufacturers, but they will increasingly be defeated by distributors and new technologies.
11. The application of new technologies will make those second-tier dealers who merely resell, speculate, or hoard goods have no place to operate.
12. The world does not need so many distributors, nor so many second-tier dealers, and even for retail outlets, not so many are needed.

**III. Trends in Terminal Channel Evolution**
13. Different retail formats will experience uneven performance, with significant divergence: department stores and large/medium supermarkets will decline, while convenience stores will see a spring.
14. In the next decade, mergers and acquisitions between e-commerce platforms/companies and offline stores, both online and offline, will become a new theme in China's retail industry consolidation.
15. Convenience stores and small supermarkets will benefit from e-commerce and O2O businesses.
16. Retail outlets will increasingly diversify in their products and services.
17. Offline will need fewer physical stores, and even fewer traditional terminal sales representatives.
18. Manufacturers will have more capability to conduct direct operations from A/B-class terminals to C/D-class terminals.
19. Every retail outlet will become a multi-functional platform.

**IV. Changes in Physical Stores Themselves**
20. WiFi will become a standard feature in almost every physical store.
21. Display and sales will become screen-based.
22. Experiential products will become "unlimited."
23. Companies will increasingly compete for consumer search opportunities.
24. All products and even offline physical stores will be digitized.
25. Offline stores will operate online, meaning physical stores will "go online."
26. "Zero inventory" operations will become common.
27. Consumer experience will become more "premium" or "high-end."
28. Customer membership will become universal—key attributes of so-called "members" will become basic facts for all physical stores in the future.
29. Physical stores will enter an era of front-end service, where the importance of service will greatly increase.
30. Omnichannel will be the norm.
31. Physical stores will have more diverse forms and formats compared to the past.

_Reprinted from:_ This article is excerpted from Mr. Li Zhengquan's new book "From Trends to Action: The New Business Ecosystem of the Next Decade and the Path to Enterprise Transformation and Reform," published by CITIC Press, available at Amazon Books.

**-END-**

Content Selection
**Reply with the following keywords to search and read related articles:**
Sales Supervisor, Second-Tier Management, Regional Manager, Distributor Management, New Channels, City Manager, Competition, 2015, Manufacturer-Dealer Game, Product Slow Sales, Terminal Visit Management, Route Management, Deep Distribution, Internal Management, Sales Skills, Profit Improvement, Recruitment, Distribution, Daily Management, Team Motivation, Trade Promotion, Sales Misconceptions, New Product Launch, Township Market, New Product Pricing, Sales Target Achievement, Closing, Market Visit Inspection, Baijiu, Beer, Sales Increase, Agency Products, Channel Crossing, KA, Terminal Merchandising, New Market, Market Operation, Learning, Book Recommendations, Inventory Management, Sales Novice, Consumer Promotion, Execution, Old Products, Expired Product Handling, Model Market, Investment Attraction, New Media, Distributor Development, Performance Appraisal, Assessment, Annual Planning, Shopping Guide, Morning Meeting, Display, Transformation, Stock Pressure, Holidays, Distributor Cost Control, Channel Operation, Marketing Theory and Laws, Brand Truth, Order Meeting, Team Management, Training, Debriefing, Debriefing Report.


---

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671