JD Discount Supermarket's first Beijing store recently opened to the public! JD's moves have always attracted attention, and since the JD platform posted job listings for discount supermarkets over a month ago, industry discussions have been heating up. Now the store has finally debuted, and I rushed to the scene at the first opportunity—arriving at the supermarket entrance at 10:30 AM, I queued until 11:00 AM before getting in. The opening scene was packed, with customers at the door checking flyers and discussing what to buy. As I queued, the line behind me grew longer and longer, and some customers even lamented, "How can spending money not get you into the supermarket?" Entrance area "There weren't this many people when Happy Monkey opened, nor when Yonghui Supermarket opened." "We saw the opening news on Douyin and rushed over." I randomly interviewed several queuing customers and found they were all nearby residents. Immersive Experience at JD Discount Supermarket The store is located in Xishan Hui Shopping Center in Mentougou District, featuring a "large-store, multi-SKU" model, forming a "big store vs. small store" close-range competition with Meituan's "Happy Monkey" supermarket just about 1.5 kilometers away. Next, I'll take you on an immersive tour of JD Discount Supermarket to observe this retail competition up close.

  • In-store crowds were overwhelming The store has a large space, with the entrance layout: alcoholic beverages → deli and bakery → fruits and vegetables and meat → standard products... Alcoholic beverages area Located at the entrance, although many customers lingered here, not many were actually shopping. As a pass-through area, most customers hurried past, eager to get deeper into the store. The advertised 1699 yuan Moutai was indeed a good deal, but what caught ordinary customers' attention more were everyday items. I saw a customer pick up a 330ML*6 pack of small-bottle Alien drinks and check the price: "15.9 yuan? How come smaller bottles are more expensive?" Bakery area There were many customers, and prices were very competitive: egg tarts at 9.9 yuan per box (6 pieces), Swiss rolls at 19.9 yuan per box (8 pieces). Deli area Many salespeople were enthusiastically recommending samples, such as sausages and small steamed buns. For customers with small appetites, the samples were almost a full meal. According to a salesperson, products like "Piggy Piggy Small Steamed Buns" are the same as those at Pangdonglai. Fresh produce area Compared to raw meat and seafood sections, customers were more concentrated in the fruit and vegetable area. Home and textiles This area's display was interesting: cardboard boxes served as shelves, with products neatly stacked inside. Most shoppers here were middle-aged and elderly, fitting the discount supermarket's no-frills, practical vibe.
  • Low-price traffic drivers were highly effective In-store low-price promotional items sold strongly, such as eggs at 9.9 yuan per 30, buns at 0.99 yuan each, pure grain liquor at 6.9 yuan per 500ml, and durian at 18.9 yuan per jin. These items attracted huge crowds, with the egg queue being the most spectacular, estimated at 40-50 people.
  • Innovative price tags The price tags were innovative, using JD's primary color, with eye-catching red acting like a silent salesperson. Various slogans guided customers: "Breakthrough Price" discounts, "JD Own Brands," "One Card in Hand, Worry-Free Shopping," and more.
  • Local specialty products The deli area incorporated some Beijing local snacks, such as ge zha he (a crispy snack).**
  • Rich own-brand matrix JD's own brands include: Qixian, Jingyue, Jingxianfang, and Jingdong Jingzao, covering almost all categories. I overheard customers in the store: "Look, JD has its own products here." Customers didn't show rejection or doubt about quality regarding JD's own brands; instead, they were pleasantly surprised. On-site Comparison: JD Supermarket vs. Meituan Supermarket Since I was in Mentougou and had seen JD Discount Supermarket, I naturally had to visit Meituan's "Happy Monkey." Just a short walk from JD Discount Supermarket was Meituan's "Happy Monkey." This "face-to-face" layout is a topic of industry discussion. Although both are offline ventures by internet giants, their positioning differs. JD Discount Supermarket is larger with more SKUs, resembling a "compressed warehouse supermarket," while Happy Monkey focuses more on high-frequency daily meals. They serve different life scenarios. Top: Happy Monkey; Bottom: JD Discount Store I picked some best-selling products across categories and compared prices at the two stores. Despite JD Discount Supermarket's larger SKU count, I noticed some popular items were missing, such as Jinlongyu, Bluemoon, and One Cow Raised by One. The two own-brand strategies are distinct. JD's own brands adopt a "multi-brand, full-category" army approach, with each brand having a clear history and positioning. In contrast, Meituan's "Happy Monkey" uses a lighter, more focused "main and sub-brand synergy" strategy, leveraging the existing asset Xiaoxiang to quickly enter the core fresh produce category, while using the new brand Happy Monkey to cover surrounding high-frequency standard products, forming a combined punch. Why Did the Two Retail Giants Choose to Set Up Shop Adjacently in Mentougou District? This close-range competition is essentially a battle for offline traffic entry points among internet giants. As online customer acquisition costs rise, communities—with their high-frequency, essential consumption scenarios—become contested ground. Both JD and Meituan hope to reach consumers more frequently through the discount supermarket format and build their offline moats. Why Mentougou? The fact that both stores chose to land in Beijing's Mentougou, so close to each other, is no coincidence; it reflects internet giants' shared judgment on current retail trends. Compared to Beijing's fiercely competitive core business districts, commercial rents and operating costs in outer suburbs like Mentougou are lower, providing valuable trial-and-error space for formats in the exploration stage. Moreover, Mentougou attracts spillover customers from Fangshan, Shijingshan, and Haidian—consumers who are price-sensitive yet retain considerable purchasing power, aligning well with the target customers of hard discount formats. Additionally, the area blends old and new urban areas, offering diverse consumption levels, making it a natural testing ground for validating business models. It is reported that Meituan's other offline supermarket brand, "Xiaoxiang," will open its first store in Beijing's urban area this Friday. Meituan's exploration of offline business may have already built initial confidence. When I visited yesterday morning, Happy Monkey's foot traffic had stabilized compared to its opening, but it was still better than a typical supermarket, with seven or eight customers in almost every section. JD Discount Supermarket, being newly opened, was at peak traffic. In the long run, short-term opening promotions bringing in customers is not true strength. In the future, the winner between these two supermarkets will be determined by hard power: stable supply chains, quality low-price products, and efficient operations to control losses and costs.