---
title: "6.2 Million Mom-and-Pop Stores, an 11 Trillion Yuan Market That Capital Cannot Shake, but Distributors Value!"
description: "For distributors, controlling the terminal means conquering the market. In the new retail era, more and more distributors are shifting their focus: some are exiting hypermarkets, some are entering convenience stores, and some are venturing into mobile internet for their first online business. But what they have never given up on are the 6.2 million mom-and-pop stores nationwide, which account for 40% of retail channel shipments. For volume-driven products, these stores scattered across every corner of the city are their best destination. More importantly, for third- and fourth-tier cities, towns, and rural markets, mom-and-pop stores are like convenience stores in big cities, becoming an essential part of the community."
author: "冷冻君"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2017-11-28"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NwP_t106SGgNTkLm88FLTA"
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# 6.2 Million Mom-and-Pop Stores, an 11 Trillion Yuan Market That Capital Cannot Shake, but Distributors Value!

> For distributors, controlling the terminal means conquering the market. In the new retail era, more and more distributors are shifting their focus: some are exiting hypermarkets, some are entering convenience stores, and some are venturing into mobile internet for their first online business. But what they have never given up on are the 6.2 million mom-and-pop stores nationwide, which account for 40% of retail channel shipments. For volume-driven products, these stores scattered across every corner of the city are their best destination. More importantly, for third- and fourth-tier cities, towns, and rural markets, mom-and-pop stores are like convenience stores in big cities, becoming an essential part of the community.

For distributors, controlling the terminal means conquering the market. In the new retail era, more and more distributors are shifting their focus: some are exiting hypermarkets, some are entering convenience stores, and some are venturing into mobile internet for their first online business. But what they have never given up on are the 6.2 million mom-and-pop stores nationwide, which account for 40% of retail channel shipments.

For volume-driven products, these stores scattered across every corner of the city are their best destination. More importantly, for third- and fourth-tier cities, towns, and rural markets, mom-and-pop stores are like convenience stores in big cities, becoming an essential part of the community.

1. The advantage of mom-and-pop stores is proximity, not price

Walking into a mom-and-pop store, compared to supermarkets and convenience stores, there are no promotions, no heart-pounding giveaways for middle-aged women, no neat displays, and no spacious, bright shopping environment. Their only advantage is their proximity to consumers. They are scattered in alleys, streets, and at the entrances of residential communities. In some places, you can find five or six mom-and-pop stores within a kilometer.

2. Heartwarming shopping experience

For most mom-and-pop stores, there are no professional salespeople or dedicated cashiers. The storefront, often just a dozen square meters, is run by a young man, an uncle, an aunt, or a young couple. In towns and rural areas, the mom-and-pop store might be a room in their own house, with neighbors as customers.

On warm winter days, in the open space in front of a rural mom-and-pop store, a group of people sit basking in the sun, chatting about daily life. On hot summer days, children run to the store with money from their parents to buy an ice pop, licking it all the way home. In cities, mom-and-pop stores are often called small shops or named after the owner. If you are familiar with the owner, you might even be able to buy on credit. Nowadays, most mom-and-pop stores also accept package deliveries on behalf of residents. This shopping experience is sincere, casual, and comfortable.

For mom-and-pop store owners, their main concerns are whether the product sells well, whether the price is reasonable, and whether the profit margin is good. If your product meets these criteria, congratulations, you have won over another mom-and-pop store. In conversations with some distributors, they told me that compared to supermarkets and convenience stores, they prefer dealing with mom-and-pop stores because they can directly face the top decision-maker without bureaucratic layers. The owner can make decisions on the spot, and there are no high entry fees. As long as the product is good and the profit is decent, owners are happy to accept it. More importantly, the order quantities are small, avoiding overstocking, and the payment terms are short, sometimes even cash on delivery. Moreover, if you treat the owner well, they will treat you well in return, and they may even proactively recommend your product to consumers.

3. They understand consumer needs firsthand

If you want to know what consumers like, don't look at data released by various institutions or listen to consumer trend reports from major manufacturers. Go to the mom-and-pop stores in your city; you will definitely find the information you need there. Alipay and WeChat Pay, now widely known, first became popular in mom-and-pop stores. Moreover, mom-and-pop store owners even know the consumer demographics and spending power of the surrounding community. From the packages they accept on behalf of residents, they can even infer consumers' shopping needs. They know who is a homebody, who is a shopaholic, and who doesn't like to cook.

Today, in mom-and-pop stores, you can find the most popular products and also nostalgic foods. There are down-to-earth ice pops and high-end ice cream. These changes come from consumer demand, and what changes the product assortment in mom-and-pop stores is not the purchasing department, category management, SKU count, or sales rankings, but the owner and the owner's vision.

Nowadays, the delivery service popular in convenience stores, whether ordered online or by phone, mom-and-pop stores have long learned to shorten the last mile to zero. Community WeChat groups, information distribution about new arrivals and inventory discounts, are particularly well used by mom-and-pop stores specializing in fresh produce, and they can even deliver to your doorstep. With long-term face-to-face interaction with regular customers, no one knows better than them how to genuinely improve the customer experience.

4. Unmanned shelves and unmanned convenience stores claim to disrupt tradition, but they cannot disrupt mom-and-pop stores

Before the birth of the mobile internet, mom-and-pop stores already existed. Today, as the mobile internet grows, mom-and-pop stores still exist. When unmanned convenience stores appeared and online shopping matured, many people clamored to disrupt traditional shopping methods. From the entry of supermarkets into China to the proliferation of convenience stores, there are now 6.2 million mom-and-pop stores nationwide, and this number may still be rising.

As urbanization accelerates and urban villages and old residential areas gradually disappear, and as convenience stores expand rapidly, many worry that mom-and-pop stores will become history. Perhaps these worries are unnecessary. After urban renewal, new mom-and-pop stores are established. After the rapid expansion of convenience stores, many mom-and-pop stores are not worried about a sharp decline in income because tobacco sales, which account for nearly half of their revenue, are not allowed for chain convenience stores or e-commerce, especially foreign-funded convenience stores. **According to incomplete statistics, of the 11 trillion yuan in sales from mom-and-pop stores, about 3 trillion comes from tobacco sales. And using tobacco to drive sales of beverages, alcohol, snacks, daily necessities, and other small consumer goods constitutes the most stable source of income for mom-and-pop stores. Mom-and-pop stores are not something capital can shake.**

Once, most people believed that the emergence of e-commerce would definitely shake physical stores, so some supermarkets closed and some stores saw declining performance. Only mom-and-pop stores have remained unchanged for decades, even becoming the last-mile transfer stations for e-commerce logistics. Imagine if all mom-and-pop stores nationwide stopped providing package collection services; the delivery couriers would definitely be devastated.

5. Now, e-commerce has also begun cooperating with mom-and-pop stores

Alibaba, from the proposal of new retail, built Retail Link, acquired major supermarkets, and this year began targeting mom-and-pop stores with the Tmall Small Store plan!!

JD.com built its New Channel two years ago, with 50,000 terminals in the first year, and this year launched a million convenience store plan, targeting mom-and-pop stores downstairs!

Yonghui, as a supermarket giant, continues to lay out large supermarkets while its subsidiary Yonghui Finance continuously develops business for terminal small stores, targeting offline mom-and-pop stores.

**With total annual retail sales of 26 trillion yuan, mom-and-pop stores contribute 11 trillion, which no other channel can achieve.** B2B platforms not only offer transparent product prices and many promotions, but also shorten the supply chain. Mom-and-pop stores at the end of the traditional retail chain typically go through at least six levels: province, city, county, town, and street. With B2B platforms, intermediate links are reduced, naturally increasing profit margins.

For distributors, when supermarket processes are too cumbersome, when convenience stores are too dominant, and when online dividends are disappearing, I think mom-and-pop stores are probably the best breakthrough point. With 6.2 million mom-and-pop stores and an 11 trillion yuan market, if you control the mom-and-pop stores in your coverage area, **as long as you continuously deepen your products and services and firmly grasp mom-and-pop stores, then perhaps you will control 40% of channel coverage.**

Source: Frozen Food Marketing (ID: lengshinews)

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