Source | Innovation Retail Society ID | dnwlkjyxgs Author | Wang Hai

Over the past two years, instant retail has become the most unavoidable term for FMCG industry practitioners.

Meituan Flash Purchase, Taobao Flash Purchase, and JD Daojia have taken turns, with platform subsidies following one after another, making it seem like anyone can easily "break through the circle." But behind this seemingly lively wave, an awkward reality is that the vast majority of brands don't know what they are doing.

They treat instant retail as food delivery, view advertising as transactions, and see platforms as traffic sources. As a result, budgets are burned, sales remain stagnant, and internal debates persist:

"Should this belong to the e-commerce department or the offline channel department?"

In fact, instant retail is no longer a simple expansion of sales channels, but a retail restructuring centered on "supply capability."

Instant Retail Is Not Food Delivery, But Retail Restructuring

Recently, I have intensively visited a series of warehouse owners and expert teachers in the lightning warehouse industry. Among them, Teacher Ding Ning from Tala shared a sentence with me: "90% of brands don't actually understand instant retail."

Many brands still treat it as an "extension of food delivery," viewing advertising as exposure and sales as accidental.

They haven't realized that this is no longer a "subsidy-driven" market, but a complete restructuring of retail supply.

The emergence of instant retail has changed the traditional logic of "people, goods, and places":

The consumer's shopping radius is shortened to 3 kilometers;

The competitiveness of goods changes from "brand awareness" to "whether it can be delivered immediately";

The core of the channel is no longer the traffic entrance, but the supply radius.

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This means: today's instant retail is not a traffic war, but a battle of supply capability.

The gap between C&S and Vinda is not in advertising, but in who is closer to consumers;

The brand power of old brands is redefined by "delivery distance" in the instant retail arena.

This transformation is pulling all brands back to "supply reality"—only those who can be purchased instantly are qualified to be chosen.

Brands' Lack of Understanding: Cognitive Misalignment, Organizational Absence, and Investment Gaps

During my conversation with Teacher Ding, he also summarized a point very accurately: "Brands' lack of understanding is not in the market, but in the organization."

First, Cognitive Misalignment

Many brands still think instant retail is just a "food delivery channel," with the core being subsidies and traffic attraction.

But instant retail is actually closer to a "digital warehouse-store business": platforms don't want advertising, but stable supply plus immediate fulfillment.

For example, a certain beer brand's "subsidy failure" is a typical case.

They subsidized channels with tens of millions in budget, but because they were unfamiliar with the mechanism, they were arbitraged, resulting in distorted data and zero ROI.

The reason is simple—brands don't understand platform rules or the supply logic of instant retail.

Second, Organizational Absence

Most companies' structures are still "e-commerce department + offline department," with instant retail stuck in between, and no one willing to take responsibility.

The e-commerce department says: "Offline delivery is not my responsibility."

The channel department says: "Online orders don't count as my sales."

As a result, no one is responsible for the channel, and opportunities are missed.

But we can see that brands that move faster often set up "instant retail operation positions" or "instant retail special channel departments."

They directly connect with warehouse-store systems or instant retail suppliers, adjust SKUs, calculate replenishment cycles, and truly operate instant retail as a "third channel."

Third, Investment Gaps

Instant retail doesn't grow through advertising, but through supply efficiency.

But many brands spend their budgets on exposure, not on key nodes like "warehouse replenishment" and "data connection."

Teacher Ding put it bluntly: "The place where brands should spend the most money in instant retail is to make goods move faster, not to make ads look louder."

This is actually a new mindset shift: from "traffic investment thinking" to "supply thinking."

The Dividend Has Not Dispersed Brands That Understand Controllable Supply Are Quietly Taking Off

The dividend of instant retail is still continuing, but it belongs to those brands that first supplement their cognition, dare to adjust their structure, and emphasize supply execution.

Teacher Ding mentioned a viewpoint during the exchange: "Instant retail is a channel where all are equal; brand mindshare is no longer strong, and supply determines success or failure."

This sentence also indicates that the birth of new channels will be accompanied by the rise of new brands.

For example, Hans (disposable products) won regional sales championships by quickly stocking warehouses and low-priced SKUs; Shark Fit (healthy light meals) used the lightning warehouse channel to create a new category of healthy bento boxes.

Their common point is: supply first, marketing later.

If old brands don't change and do brand defense well, they will only be gradually replaced by "near-field brands" in the algorithmic ranking of instant retail.

From the platform perspective, the competition between Meituan and Taobao has also shifted from "subsidizing users" to "courting brands."

Taobao does "brand recruitment + subsidies";

Meituan does "quality supply + consignment";

JD focuses on "supply chain services + brand co-building."

This means that brands are no longer passive followers, but must learn to actively define their own channel strategies.

  1. Supplement cognition: learn the track logic, understand the supply structure;
  2. Build departments: establish dedicated instant retail positions or a middle platform;
  3. Truly value it: allocate budgets, set goals;
  4. Take action: co-build supply strategies with warehouse-store systems or third-party consultants.

The instant retail track is far from over, but the pace has changed.

Final Thoughts

In the past, we were accustomed to discussing brands in terms of "marketing power," measuring penetration by "voice," and driving growth through "advertising." But in the world of instant retail, what determines everything is another set of more realistic logic:

Can you be delivered to consumers in a timely, stable, and controllable manner?

Brand-controllable supply is not as simple as distributing goods; it is the ability to have goods reach real demand points at the right time and through the shortest path. It includes three levels:

  • Controllable inventory: not piling up goods, but having awareness and rhythm of regional sell-through;
  • Controllable warehouse-store: not just handing over to channels, but being able to participate in the efficiency co-building of every node;
  • Controllable fulfillment: not waiting for consumers to find you, but always standing in a position where you can be chosen.

This means that future brand competition will no longer be "whose ads are louder," but: who can appear in consumers' hands faster, closer, and more accurately.

Standing at this point in time, brands willing to rebuild organizations, restructure channels, and redo supply capabilities will take the next stage of instant retail growth; while those that still treat it as an "additional channel" will unknowingly lose presence and reach in young consumer scenarios.

Instant retail is not a short-term dividend from traffic subsidies, but a long-term battle where brand supply capability is redefined.

Those who truly win are those who hold supply in their own hands.

To this end, on November 25-26, we will hold the "2025 Instant Retail Supply Summit Forum and the First Instant Retail Store-Warehouse Product Selection Fair" in Hangzhou.

At this meeting, we invite FMCG brands, platforms, lightning warehouse brands, and service partners to focus on the theme of "controllable supply," dissect the latest practical cases and strategies, build an efficient and precise supply-demand exchange and docking platform, and jointly explore new growth solutions in the era of instant retail.

Friends interested in instant retail lightning warehouses must not miss it!**

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