Over the past six months, the entire FMCG industry has been chasing instant retail. Platform subsidies refresh daily, flash sales wars rage on, and lightning warehouses have expanded from thousands to tens of thousands. Many have concluded that traditional marketing is obsolete and must be reinvented. But I'd like to say something that may be counterintuitive but is increasingly close to the essence: Instant retail is not the end of marketing but the return of terminal marketing. It's not that old methods are stubborn; it's that the laws of terminals have never changed. What has changed is the terminal's "operating system"—from physical rules to algorithmic rules, from weekly/monthly rhythms to daily/hourly rhythms. Ren Wenqing, CEO of New Distribution, first proposed at the Instant Retail Conference on November 25 that instant retail's warehouse-stores are "new terminals." So, if you examine instant retail from the perspective of "new terminals," you'll find that marketing hasn't exited; it has returned to where it should have been all along.

Warehouse-stores are not "an online channel" but "a new terminal" Why emphasize "new terminal"? Because only by treating instant retail's warehouse-stores as "terminals" for refined management can we talk about "controllable supply." Supply drives growth, but "disorderly supply" is not the supply growth we manufacturers need. So, if we merely treat instant retail as an ancillary traffic pool for e-commerce, we will forever be passively listed, passively price-wars, and passively paying tuition.

1. Warehouse-stores are an "old friend with a new look" Why call instant retail's warehouse-stores "new terminals"? Because they possess at least five terminal attributes:

  • Limited shelf space Warehouse-stores are not an e-commerce ocean of unlimited SKUs but a limited shelf where it's "either you or me." Limited shelf space means you must compete for "presence."
  • Localized coverage radius They primarily serve nearby customers within about 3 kilometers, "guarding territory" like convenience stores, completely different from e-commerce selling nationwide.
  • They are real physical nodes Goods are in the warehouse, and warehouses are close to communities. This characteristic of warehouse-stores is almost identical to traditional offline terminals.
  • Require distribution and professional services Warehousing, restocking, sales promotion, after-sales, and customer relations—these daily tasks of offline terminals exist here as well.
  • Roles in instant retail are highly similar to traditional distribution Lightning warehouse operators are more like strong-control wholesalers/goods plate providers; Brand palletizers are more like new agents. If we deeply understand these, we see not a "completely unfamiliar new species" but an "old friend with a new look." Our conclusion is clear: Instant retail's warehouse-stores are not online e-commerce; they are a new form of offline shelf. Once we see this clearly, all subsequent questions have answers.

2. What's new about warehouse-stores is the operating mechanism Since warehouse-stores are "new terminals," why do many people feel "the old ways don't work" upon entering? Because the operating system of this new terminal has completely changed.

  • Display mechanism changed In the past, you fought for end caps and displays, competing for physical position; Now you compete for main images, titles, detail pages, search terms, and recommendation slots, competing for digital position. Digital display = the end caps and displays of instant retail.
  • Traffic mechanism changed In the past, it was "people find goods + salesperson guidance"; Now it's "algorithm finds goods + instant demand triggers." You're not competing with the store next door but with the algorithm's weight.
  • Pricing mechanism changed "God prices" / "package prices" are not an option but the entry threshold for the traffic pool. If you don't enter, no traffic; If you enter, how do you survive? Through differentiated product portfolios and structural profits.
  • Fulfillment rhythm changed In the past, terminal operations were on a weekly/monthly rhythm; Now many categories have "hour-level windows." One stockout or one slow delivery, and your rating and weight drop.
  • Terminal power structure changed Going deeper into the power structure, you'll see more clearly: In the past, terminal power mainly lay with retailers/store owners; now terminal power lies with platform algorithms and product plate systems. What you need to do is not agonize over whether to enter instant retail but to judge: Can you, under the new power structure, understand the rules, apply them, and regain the initiative?

From "traffic war" to "quality war": a window for suppliers Is now a good time for FMCG manufacturers to enter instant retail? My judgment is clear: Instant retail is shifting from a traffic dividend period to a quality competition period. The former competes on subsidies, listings, and speed; The latter competes on stable supply, fulfillment experience, and scenario-based product power. You don't need to wait for classic cases to believe it; the platform's reward and punishment signals are already changing. Five signals of rising quality weight on platforms:

Rating weight continues to rise; Stockout rate becomes a red line; Fulfillment timeliness/overtime rate directly affects exposure; Repurchase and return rate become key factors; Penalties for customer complaints/negative reviews on store weight increase. The logic is simple: Traffic can buy a first order, but not a second. The endgame of instant retail is not low prices but certainty. What does certainty rely on? Still on "supply quality." Why is this a window for brands/distributors? In the era of traffic competition, value lies with the platform. Supply side is just a tool, replaceable by anyone. In the era of quality competition, value returns to the supply side. Users stay because of experience and stability, and platforms must rely on "good supply" to solidify habits. When market demand returns to quality supply, suppliers gain bargaining power. As long as you can provide better, more stable, more scenario-adapted, and more rule-savvy supply, you're back at the table. In one sentence: The arrival of quality competition is the moment for brands and distributors to get a seat at the table.

Warehouse-store marketing returns to the "five things of new terminals" What do you do when operating offline terminals? Coverage, display, sales promotion, customer relations, and service. Translate those dizzying internet buzzwords into our familiar marketing language, and you'll find that the "new terminal marketing" five things in instant retail are all there, just with changed carriers, objects, and specific actions.

1. Coverage: from "how many stores sold into" to "how many warehouses sold into" It's not about how many warehouses you enter, but the entry rate/presence rate/effective sales warehouse rate. Core warehouses need deep sales promotion; long-tail warehouses only need presence. Warehouses are limited shelves; entering a warehouse means occupying a position. Without controllable and traceable coverage, there's no controllability.

2. Digital display: from "physical shelves" to "digital shelf positions" Main images, titles, selling points, detail pages, scenario-based expressions, search terms... These terms that traditional marketers find headache-inducing are actually another expression of your "end caps + displays + promotional materials" in instant retail. It's recommended that each product have at least one standard set: "Instant scenario main image + one-minute selling point + algorithm-friendly title." If digital display is not done well, even good products won't be seen. If not seen, they won't sell.

3. Sales promotion: from "purchase incentives" to "scenario triggers" Instant retail users don't buy cheap; they buy "solving the problem at this moment." Sales promotion should revolve around instant scenarios: time-based coupons, scenario coupons, combo packs, emergency supply packs, late-night snack packs, camping packs... Upgrade from "activity discounts" to "demand triggers." If you only do discounts without scenarios, you'll end up in the "god price" price war quagmire.

4. Customer relations: the object has changed, but the relationship management hasn't In the past, you built relationships with store owners; Now you communicate with the "warehouse entry decision chain" of operating brands/goods plate providers/palletizers. The "currency" of customer relations is no longer dinners but three things: Data sharing, gross margin structure, and restocking efficiency. Only when relationships are smooth can you sustain presence and volume.

5. Service: from "store visits" to "digital store visits + close operations for key warehouses" What you inspect is no longer physical displays but: stockouts, ratings, reviews, digital display execution, activity implementation, and fulfillment experience. Service KPIs should also change: stockout rate, rating, sales turnover, not visit frequency. The goal remains the same: make the terminal sell well, sell long, and sell steadily. Once these five things are done, terminal marketing returns. And once terminal marketing returns, controllable supply in instant retail becomes possible.

The essence of controllable supply: the trinity of rights, not just "I have goods" Many people talk about controllable supply but still think "I can supply goods." That's far from enough. In new terminals, controllable supply is a trinity of rights:

  • Goods rights: I decide what goods enter the warehouse, how much, and where;
  • Price rights: I decide which goods get "god prices," which maintain gross margins, and which generate structural profits;
  • Supply rights: I can ensure the right warehouse has the right goods, and stockouts are not determined by others. Missing any one of these three rights means it's not controllable. Many think they're doing controllable supply, but they've only achieved "supply," not "control."
  • Without goods rights → homogeneous product plates;
  • Without price rights → forced to follow "god prices";
  • Without supply rights → stockouts and fulfillment experience are determined by the platform. The result: order volume rises, profits bottom out, and terminals remain uncontrollable. In other words: controllable supply is not a slogan; it's the outcome of new terminal marketing.

In conclusion Instant retail makes many anxious because it exposes a reality: In the past, we relied too much on "channels pushing sales." Now, with this new terminal of instant retail before us, we must find the answer: Who am I supplying for, and with what? How can I supply more accurately, more stably, and faster? Instant retail hasn't ended marketing; it has just pushed marketing back to the terminal. When new terminals shift from traffic wars to quality wars, the real opportunity isn't "whether to open warehouses," but whether you can achieve controllable supply. This path isn't easy; understanding the principles is one thing, and restructuring the organization's new terminal marketing capabilities is another. But "new terminal marketing capability" determines who will be zeroed out and who will be amplified.