Introduction: Precisely grasping consumer demand, Waima Songjiu drives new growth in instant retail for alcoholic beverages.
"I just opened one in April this year, and my goal for 2024 is to see which cities Meituan opens for franchise next. I want to expand beyond Guangdong and open several more stores in other cities." This is the biggest business wish for 2024 of Boss Feng, who runs a Waima Songjiu business in Yingde, Guangdong. Waima Songjiu is Meituan's self-operated instant retail brand for alcoholic beverages, providing users with high-quality alcohol delivery in an average of 15 minutes through a model of "self-operated supply chain + front warehouses + self-owned delivery." After two years of rapid development, it has covered more than 30 cities across five provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Shaanxi, with over 400 stores opened in total. Leveraging Waima Songjiu to gain new growth on the instant retail platform has become a consensus among alcoholic beverage brands and distributors. So what exactly is the magic of Waima Songjiu that attracts merchants like Boss Feng to join in?
Waima Songjiu's precise grasp and satisfaction of consumer demand
"On Saturday night, I invited friends over for dinner at home. I had prepared a table full of dishes but forgot to buy alcohol. I habitually opened Meituan and was attracted by a Waima Songjiu store that promised 15-minute delivery and authenticity. With one order, the alcohol arrived before the dishes were even fully served." Mr. Zhang, who lives near Wangjing in Beijing, shared his experience of being won over by Waima Songjiu. Because of the strong user mindset of "meal + alcohol," Meituan users naturally retain the habit of buying alcohol through delivery. Alcoholic beverages have performed prominently on Meituan Flash Sales, with overall growth leading the entire instant retail industry. According to the "2023 Instant Retail Alcohol White Paper" released by Meituan Flash Sales, from 2020 to 2022, in the instant retail market size, beer grew by 83%, foreign liquor by 628%, and baijiu by 554%, far exceeding the growth of the overall alcoholic beverage market. Behind this high growth are countless orders for alcohol consumption driven by "think, buy, drink" impulses, confirming the development of consumer demand. Waima Songjiu captures and satisfies the four major needs of instant retail alcohol consumers: fast — delivery must be fast; variety — a wide selection; authentic — genuine products; savings — affordable prices. As a fast-moving consumer good driven by consumer "emotions" and "atmosphere," alcoholic beverages have typical characteristics of immediacy and scenario-based consumption. Meeting users' immediate needs in specific scenarios is precisely Meituan Flash Sales' strength. As Meituan's self-operated front-warehouse model for alcohol retail, Waima Songjiu inevitably inherits this powerful gene.
Waima Songjiu's three major platform advantages help solve "bosses'" worries
Warehouse-store model and complete supply chain support
Taking Waima Songjiu's Wangjing store as an example, a typical front warehouse is about 100 square meters, housing over 800 SKUs including baijiu, wine, beer, and foreign liquor. This front-warehouse model reduces costs for rent, decoration, and equipment by more than 30% compared to traditional offline stores. Waima Songjiu's self-operated supply chain adopts a purchase-sale model with no middlemen, and goods are supplied directly. A professional procurement team cooperates with brands, with goods shipped directly from brands, designated distributors, or authorized dealers to Waima Songjiu's central warehouse, then distributed to each front warehouse, and finally delivered to users by store staff, achieving full-chain control of goods. "The alcohol industry is quite deep. If I had to source goods myself, it would be hard to distinguish genuine from fake, and I could easily ruin my reputation. This way, the platform negotiates prices and ensures supply, which is worry-free and saves effort." Boss Huang from Qingyuan, Guangdong, previously operated offline stores. After learning that Waima Songjiu solves supply chain worries for merchants, he successively opened seven stores. Waima Songjiu has formed an integrated operation model of warehousing, picking, and delivery, where riders are responsible for picking and delivering goods, capable of completing sorting and delivery within an average of 15 minutes. As of December 2023, Waima Songjiu had over 5 million registered users across the platform, with total transaction volume exceeding 1.2 billion yuan.
Specialized support from Waima Songjiu's business team
After joining Waima Songjiu, a dedicated person will provide one-stop guidance from cooperation negotiation, warehouse leasing and site selection, to decoration and equipment, product procurement, online operations, customer acquisition, and cost control. They also guide daily management after launch, providing merchants with "nanny-style" guidance and support throughout the process, helping them quickly transform from novices to operations experts. Boss Feng has deep experience with this. He previously worked in the transportation industry and was introduced to Waima Songjiu by chance during a gathering with friends. According to him, his store's overall gross margin can reach around 20%. When asked why he chose to join Waima Songjiu among multiple entrepreneurial projects, he said: "Because the big brand is trustworthy. Waima Songjiu is Meituan's self-operated brand, backed by a big tree. The team I work with provides hands-on support. I was able to quickly get the hang of this operation-heavy business from the traditional transportation industry. If I had to figure it out on my own, I definitely couldn't have done it."
Digital operation capability support
For front warehouses focused on online demand, Meituan's digital operation capabilities provide a significant boost. All Waima Songjiu stores are connected to the Qianniuhua system, which allows real-time viewing of shelf inventory, guides delivery personnel in quick picking and delivery, and monitors product shortages in real time to remind for timely replenishment. At the same time, Meituan Flash Sales has accumulated a wealth of mature marketing tactics and experience in enhancing user consumption experience in the instant retail field, which can also be replicated to the Waima Songjiu business. On the Waima Songjiu ordering interface, nearly 20 product categories are finely divided based on different types of alcohol, different alcohol levels, and different consumption scenarios, in addition to snacks, beverages, and alcohol-related accessories such as ice cups and ice products. The store manager of the Wangjing store shared: "On the ordering interface, users can note their preferred ice level based on their needs. For example, when buying a pack of beer, they can have some chilled and some not. Users can also schedule delivery, and Waima Songjiu will deliver according to the scheduled time. Since its launch, Waima Songjiu has received unanimous praise from merchants and users. A good consumption experience drives users to make repeat purchases."
Currently, it is the eve of the Spring Festival. According to Meituan Flash Sales data, from mid-to-late December 2023 to early January, baijiu sales increased by 257% year-on-year. Whether for holiday gifts or daily consumption, as a market with a trillion-level consumption scale, the alcoholic beverage market still has room for exploration in the instant retail track. Waima Songjiu will also accelerate its expansion, planning to open franchise recruitment in 2024 in provinces and municipalities including Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Beijing, Shaanxi, and Hebei. Entrepreneurs and teams that meet the following conditions are welcome to cooperate:
1. Have a clear willingness to cooperate and are willing to learn and practice the new instant retail model 2. Possess approximately 260,000 yuan in business startup and operating funds 3. Have the necessary time to participate in Waima Songjiu business management or store operations 4. Experience in the alcoholic beverage industry (preferred)
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Meituan Flash Sales looks forward to working with more brands, merchants, and entrepreneurs who are interested in instant retail and the Waima Songjiu model to achieve shared success!