On an April weekend, a long queue formed at B1 of Longhu Tianjie in Ningbo's Yinzhou District. A large number of waiting customers gathered at the entrance of a supermarket. Among the crowd were young parents pushing strollers, retired aunties who had come together, and quite a few social media influencers holding up their phones, ready to livestream or record. The craze was not triggered by a traditional supermarket giant, but by Xiaoxiang Supermarket, a brand under Meituan that started with online instant retail.
Inside the store, the tasting area had a winding long line, with young people eager to try new things crowding around Xiaoxiang's private-label products such as the Oriental Botanical series drinks, beef crisps, and volcanic rock grilled sausages;
In the landmark seafood section, traditional seafood like Zhoushan beltfish, red crab paste, and yellow mud snails attracted 'old Ningbo' residents to stop and pick;
The 9.9 yuan craft beer area and the freshly baked pastry section became new photo spots for young people. On Xiaohongshu's local page, posts like 'Take you on an immersive store tour', 'Must-buy list for opening', and 'Tasting guide' were everywhere, with lively comment sections: 'Is there still a queue now?', 'On my way! Any samples left?', 'Got the list, going next weekend!', 'Why does it seem to have more stuff than the Beijing store?'... Some netizens even drove from Cixi, Yuyao, and other places specifically to check it out. A local Ningbo influencer remarked, 'The massive foot traffic has finally come to our doorstep.' It is reported that during the opening period of Xiaoxiang Supermarket, foot traffic at Yinzhou Longhu Tianjie increased by 220% year-on-year, sales by 200%, and car traffic by 150%. A single supermarket became a 'traffic engine' activating the regional economy, showing Xiaoxiang Supermarket's significant role in driving the offline real economy. Notably, as Xiaoxiang Supermarket's second store nationwide, the Ningbo store is not a simple copy of the Beijing store. It has been further upgraded in terms of location selection, local flavor creation, and service details. In the fiercely competitive offline retail track, Xiaoxiang Supermarket's entry posture is very determined. The author attempts to analyze: In today's world where online instant retail is convenient enough, with groceries delivered to your door in half an hour, why does Xiaoxiang Supermarket want to expand offline? Why are consumers willing to spend time, or even drive long distances, to visit a physical supermarket? What does the deployment and deep cultivation of offline scenarios mean for an instant retail brand? Second Store Launch: How Xiaoxiang Supermarket Plays the Cards of 'Hustle and Bustle' and 'Human Touch'? Walking into Xiaoxiang Supermarket's Ningbo store, the most intuitive feeling is the meticulous design of the product structure. In the over 5,000 square meter sales floor, with over a thousand SKUs, the product display and special area design maximize the category logic of modern retail while incorporating strong local characteristics. It attempts to answer: Besides buying things, what else can an offline space offer? The private-label area quickly became a 'treasure base' for young people. The prominent placement of private-label products attracted many young people who had been 'planted' by the internet. Online-famous snacks like beef crisps and volcanic rock grilled sausages maintained their popularity offline. In the beverage area, the Oriental Botanical series, including goji berry puree, mulberry juice, and yam juice—products that are both food and medicine—were well received. 'Nowadays, everyone pays attention to health, but still wants something tasty. Trendy health drinks just meet the demand,' said a post-95s customer who bought by the case. It is reported that Xiaoxiang shot energy drinks, also with the same food-medicine homology feature, attracted many young users to try. The localized product area won the hearts of 'old Ningbo' residents. In the area where tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) and wontons were freshly made and cooked in collaboration with Ningbo time-honored brands like Gangyagou and Shiliuge, several skilled masters attracted many local Ningbo users who 'couldn't move on'. The seafood section was a concentrated display of Ningbo characteristics. Traditional Zhoushan dishes like marinated beltfish in wine, red crab paste, and yellow mud snails—classic cold dishes on Ningbo tables—were all available. 'It's like they moved the home kitchen into the supermarket,' a local customer remarked on site. The 3R (ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook, ready-to-heat) area was undoubtedly the 'top star' of the whole venue, elevating the customer experience from shopping to enjoying while strolling. The craft beer area, which had sparked buzz at the Beijing store, once again became a focal point at the Ningbo store. Products like Xiaoxiang Bruges Twin (9.9 yuan), Xiaoxiang German Wheat (5.9 yuan), and Xiaoxiang Grape Cheese (8.9 yuan) attracted a large number of young people queuing to buy, thanks to their unique flavors and highly competitive prices. The aroma of Angus beef burgers, durian pizza, and platinum fresh milk latte also stimulated customers' desire to buy in the open kitchen. The rich product categories, selection balancing quality-price ratio and local flavors, and the 'see what you get, buy and enjoy immediately' model significantly enhanced customers' shopping happiness and dwell time. What deserves more attention is the upgrade in service. The Ningbo store emphasizes 'customer needs as the center' and extends convenience to every aspect. For example, comprehensive infrastructure facilities provide convenience for visitors. The spacious rest area not only offers seating but also self-service water dispensers and microwaves, making it easy for customers to heat food and dine immediately; refrigerated and frozen temporary storage refrigerators also solve the contradiction between purchasing fresh products and subsequent plans. There is also the deep processing service that has been widely recognized by users. On top of basic services like fresh meat cutting and aquatic product processing, Xiaoxiang Supermarket goes further: peeling durians for customers who find it troublesome, wrapping tangyuan for families who want convenience, and pan-searing steaks for diners who seek ritual. These services, far beyond the scope of traditional supermarkets, truly achieve 'considering all details and following up on all services' for user needs. From the wok gas rising from the open kitchen to the stalls filled with the aroma of local time-honored brands; from the health-trend food-medicine drinks to the trendy online-famous snacks... Xiaoxiang Supermarket precisely captures the tangible 'hustle and bustle' with its rich food categories and on-site experience, which is a keen grasp of contemporary consumption trends. At the same time, the meticulous 'human touch' is quietly conveyed through attentive services, turning the supermarket into a warmer community space that sincerely integrates into consumers' local lives. From Online to Offline: Why Does Xiaoxiang Supermarket Join the Fray? It is worth pondering that the current offline retail track is already crowded with traditional supermarkets, membership stores, boutique supermarkets, and even fresh e-commerce front warehouses. Xiaoxiang Supermarket, as an instant retail brand incubated by Meituan, choosing to enter the physical store arena at this time seems somewhat 'against the trend' at first glance. Especially against the backdrop of its online business having established a strong presence in first-tier cities with robust growth, the decision to shift from asset-light to asset-heavy also harbors larger considerations. First, from the consumer perspective, this move helps meet users' upgraded store-visiting needs and build a stronger brand presence. Nowadays, the purpose of consumers entering a supermarket has undergone a huge change. A large number of users, especially young people, have shifted from meeting basic living material needs to seeking a composite leisure experience. The high popularity of content like 'immersive supermarket vlogs', 'supermarket must-buy lists', and 'citywalk supermarket visits' on social media like Xiaohongshu also highlights this new trend. Users no longer just shop; they also want to 'browse', 'eat', 'play', and 'check in and share'... They expect to discover novel products and gain social currency in the supermarket. The design of Xiaoxiang Supermarket's Ningbo store precisely responds to this evolving demand. Among them, the craft beer area, freshly baked pastry stalls, and abundant tasting stations are like 'attractions', allowing users to gain random fun and instant satisfaction while selecting products, shifting from planned purchases to experiential consumption. This sensory exploration fun and offline social atmosphere are also difficult to achieve in online retail. At the same time, from the perspective of user expansion, offline scenarios also help Xiaoxiang Supermarket reach new customer groups. Although the online platform already covers a massive user base, there are still differences between supermarket users and fans of fresh instant retail scenarios. At the Ningbo store, the author identified three typical incremental groups: Middle-aged and elderly family users who have fixed offline grocery shopping habits and value seeing products in person;
Young office workers who want to solve dining needs in one stop;
Entertainment-oriented consumers keen on exploring new city landmarks. Through the combination of landmark seafood, 3R cooked food, trendy drinks, and leisure spaces, Xiaoxiang Supermarket attracted all of them to the store, effectively expanding its user base. The expansion of the crowd also means an extension of consumption scenarios. Offline stores can naturally accommodate more scenarios: whether it's weekend shopping for middle-class families, buying snacks and drinks before a small gathering with friends, or solving a quick work meal, Xiaoxiang Supermarket further adapts to these new scenarios by providing rest areas, food heating equipment, and other thoughtful services. Family groups can let their children eat freshly bought egg tarts in the rest area after purchasing fresh ingredients; friends can have a drink and chat in the craft beer area after shopping. This all makes the supermarket no longer just a place for daily supplies, but a daily leisure and life base with more scenario memories and higher user favorability. It is through this that Xiaoxiang Supermarket has completed a new round of brand building. For an instant retail brand that started online and is strongly associated with 'half-hour delivery', offline physical stores are places to solidify brand quality and build deep trust. Through the online platform, Xiaoxiang Supermarket has shaped an image of a convenient and reliable life tool, while offline stores help turn brand advantages like 'quality', 'curated selection', and 'attentive service' into perceptible immersive experiences. This deep trust accumulated offline will eventually feed back into the online business. A user who tastes delicious food and experiences convenient services in the store will naturally prioritize repurchasing from Xiaoxiang Supermarket next time they need something. The physical store becomes the brand's most vivid billboard, achieving unified online-offline brand perception and two-way traffic diversion. In summary, Xiaoxiang Supermarket's deep involvement in the real economy is not a simple channel expansion, but a brand elevation centered on user experience. This also reveals the industry's upgrade direction in the Retail 3.0 era: shifting from merely competing for online traffic efficiency to competing in 'experience value' through deep online-offline integration. After all, a single channel cannot meet consumers' comprehensive needs for emotional connection, instant gratification, and exploration fun across all scenarios. Especially young, quality-seeking consumers are voting with their feet, paying for brands that offer tangible, tasteable, and immersive experiences. This forces retail enterprises to return to the essence of retail—creating value for people's better lives through ultimate product strength and warm services.