"Over a decade ago, I purchased 1 million yuan in goods monthly and had a net profit of 100,000 yuan; last year, my average monthly sales approached 3 million yuan, but my net profit was less than 50,000 yuan," said a dairy distributor. In an era of overcapacity, everyone is competing fiercely. Retailers are slashing prices with discounts, coupons, and free gifts, yet products still don't move off shelves. Brands are making multiple concessions in offline channels, but sales data remains stagnant. Distributors are seeing revenue grow but profits shrink, warehouses are overflowing, and payments are slow to come back. "It's not that business is hard to do now; it's that the old methods no longer work." For distributors who once relied solely on offline channels, business is shrinking and becoming more difficult. Discounts, store renovations, and other changes are all directly or indirectly trying to "overthrow" distributors. Many are beginning to realize that the dividends of the traditional distribution system are fading, and the potential for growth may lie in new channels and new platforms. In the past, New Distribution has reported on many distributors who operate across multiple channels, including both online and offline. We've found that such distributors have better resilience against industry changes and pains. Recently, New Distribution conducted in-depth interviews with them, and we discovered that they all mentioned the same online platform—Dewu—as a new channel. "Since joining Dewu last year, the results have been great. I didn't put in much effort, and I sold over 2 million yuan in a year," said a snack food distributor from Hubei. It's reported that almost all of them joined the platform with zero e-commerce experience and have done remarkably well. This article will share the insights and reflections we've gathered from them, explaining why distributors can succeed on Dewu without prior experience.
High Efficiency, Quick Start
Zero Experience, Easy Launch
"Young people are buying less offline now; stocking up online has become a 'common practice.'" "It's not that we don't want to do online; it's that we don't know how. Advertising, operations—these are all problems. Going from zero to one is too hard." These were the views we heard from distributors about e-commerce during a visit to the East China market earlier this year. As competition in traditional retail channels intensifies, distributors are not unwilling to change; they just don't know how or where to pivot. For distributors, the challenge of e-commerce isn't a lack of products, but a lack of manpower, operational know-how, and experience. Most distributors have focused on offline channels, and they lack the experience and capabilities for online business, making it difficult to succeed. This is where Dewu's biggest strengths come in: low barriers to entry, fast growth, low return rates, and quick payment cycles. It has structural advantages over traditional e-commerce. "Dewu is our only online channel right now. It's run by just one person, spending about two to three hours a day, and we're already doing over a million yuan in monthly sales," a general merchandise distributor from Shenyang told New Distribution. On Dewu, an operations team of just 2-3 people can generate sales through simple tasks like listing products and shipping. Sometimes, goods can be sent to Dewu's warehouses in advance, and Dewu handles shipping directly. It's reported that to minimize operational difficulty, Dewu also provides comprehensive services for new merchants. 1-on-1 Professional Guidance From initial onboarding to later operations, the platform assigns a dedicated person to guide merchants through the entire process, providing tools and data to help them navigate the 0-to-1 phase. Semi-Managed Operational Support Dewu offers one-stop services for merchants with almost zero experience. From product selection and operations to manpower and customer service, Dewu handles it all. Merchants only need to list products, set prices, and ship—no need to decorate stores or maintain product links. Distributor Mr. Xu from Shandong shared with us: "I joined Dewu in May last year. The first week was a great start, with sales of around 600,000 yuan. In the following weeks, sales doubled. Now, my monthly sales on Dewu exceed 10 million yuan, and during peak season, monthly GMV surpasses 20 million yuan." Through services like 1-on-1 guidance and semi-managed support, Dewu provides distributors with a platform that's easy to operate and enables rapid growth.
90% Accurate Organic Traffic
Making Customer Acquisition Easier for Merchants on Dewu
Distributors who have tried online sales have often struggled on mainstream e-commerce platforms. After figuring out the platform rules, they face issues like expensive traffic, slow payments, and high return rates. For food and beverage distributors who rely on thin margins and high volume, these are significant obstacles. Online operations inevitably involve topics like advertising and returns. Therefore, how to achieve high traffic and conversion rates at low cost is the primary question for distributors' long-term success online. "Compared to offline or other platforms, Dewu's operations are simple. Just pick good products, supplement with some community content, and use the platform's tools," said an e-commerce manager for a men's skincare brand, commenting on the Dewu experience. On Dewu, having good products is the first priority for selling. Unlike other platforms where you must buy traffic to get sales, Dewu uses an automatic recommendation mechanism that helps merchants with good products get "discovered." In simple terms, good products are the key to selling on Dewu. In the early stages, if you offer quality products at reasonable prices that appeal to young people, you can enjoy 90% free, high-quality traffic. Additionally, merchants can use the content community to plant seeds and accelerate the conversion from traffic to sales. For merchants, content isn't just marketing; it's a natural traffic entry point. This is very friendly for merchants with a good product catalog. In the early phase, they can rely on good products to generate sales on Dewu. Later, as they become familiar with the platform, they can add content marketing to create a positive growth flywheel. Dewu also offers a "marketing cashback" policy: when merchants use the "commercial promotion tools" and invest in marketing, they can receive a proportional cashback, allowing them to get more promotional traffic for free and reducing traffic costs by 3-4%. It's reported that some merchants have already received cashback in the millions. On Dewu, operating costs are low, and profit margins are higher. "We listed over 200 SKUs and only assigned two operations specialists. Next month is the back-to-school season, and we expect a big surge, but two people are enough," said distributor Mr. Xu. In addition to significantly reducing labor costs, Dewu has also proactively lowered fee rates, offering a 1 billion yuan special fee subsidy to preserve more profit space for merchants and reduce the cost of entering a new channel. On Dewu, return rates are lower. Dewu's overall return rate is only 10%. A milk powder distributor from Hubei gave an example. "On other platforms, return rates are often 70-80%. Since we operate on thin margins, that makes business impossible. But Dewu's return rate is only 10%, and for food items, it's less than 0.02%." On Dewu, payments are fast, reducing capital pressure. For distributors, payment terms have always been a source of stress in traditional offline business. But on Dewu, payments can be received in as little as 7 days, with funds automatically transferred to the merchant's account, ensuring excellent cash flow. Dewu has created a high-profit, low-cost operating environment for distributors, using quality customers to bring better business models and help merchants thrive on the platform.
New Demand Drives New Supply
Over 500 Million Young Users
Helping Merchants Catch Trends
Dewu is not just an e-commerce platform; it's a community for authentic products and quality lifestyle where young people gather. A paper products distributor from Anhui once shared with New Distribution: "In business today, you have to look not only at the present but also five years ahead. Today's young consumers will be the main force in the consumer market in five or even ten years." Brands, retailers, and even distributors all want to capture the consumption trends of today's youth. Currently, Dewu has over 500 million young users, with a nearly 1:1 male-to-female ratio. In China, one in every two post-95s is a Dewu user. Dewu covers young customers in cities from first to fifth tier, and these users are the most consumption-driven group in their regions. With its unique business model, Dewu has undoubtedly become one of the trendsetters that better understands young consumers. 1. Unique community content sharing helps distributor owners improve product selection while selling. The unique community content sharing allows distributor owners to learn what products are currently popular among young people while selling. It helps them grasp new trends and hot topics, improving their product selection abilities. For example, Yili's "Butter Bear" co-branded product launched on Dewu and immediately took off, with Dewu orders accounting for over 60% of all online channels. Yili's yogurt drink co-branded with Line Dog sold out within 3 days of launch, with sales exceeding 10,000 orders. In addition to IP co-branded products, products that are popular among young people, such as Sam's Club and Pangdonglai bestsellers, are also well-received on Dewu. 2. Strong holiday attributes make self-assembled gift boxes a big opportunity on Dewu. Young users like to exchange gifts on occasions like New Year, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Qixi Festival, so gift boxes sell very well on Dewu. For instance, a liquor distributor from Guangzhou launched a "mini wine and speaker gift box" for Valentine's Day and 520, selling over 10,000 orders annually. A milk powder distributor from Hubei combined Starbucks coffee powder and milk powder into a "early bird gift box." For specific holidays or scenarios, the gift box market still has great potential on Dewu. 3. Traditional brands find new life on Dewu. "The ability to acquire new users, especially young ones, often determines a brand's business height for the next few years or even a decade," said Liu Jie, Director of New Retail Development at Blue Moon. "On other platforms, Blue Moon's consumers are mostly aged 25-35. On Dewu, users are younger, with 40%-50% aged 18-25." On Dewu, brands gain deeper insights into young people's needs. For example, Blue Moon found that most Dewu users are renters, so "large quantity and cheap" isn't necessarily a plus. More young users prefer products with smaller sizes and more refined packaging. In March 2024, Blue Moon's sales on Dewu grew 1000% compared to February, achieving a monthly GMV of over one million yuan with just one operations staff member. GMV has maintained triple-digit year-over-year growth for several consecutive months. Final Thoughts Whether it's traffic costs or return rates, Dewu has significant advantages over other platforms. While most distributors, retailers, and brands are still stuck in low-price competition offline, Dewu's unique advantages of high traffic, low fees, and high profits have helped many business owners find new growth opportunities. On Dewu, we've also discovered many category gaps and dividends: imported snacks, household cleaning and personal care, private labels from major supermarkets, home fragrances... In the FMCG sector, Dewu remains a vast blue ocean. Now is the time to join and enjoy 10 billion yuan in traffic subsidies, 1 billion yuan in fee subsidies, 500 million yuan in marketing cashback, and a special support plan for new merchants. Some merchants have already received cashback in the millions. Distributors with quality product catalogs who are actively seeking growth opportunities and profit protection can quickly scan the QR code below to get Dewu's preferential policies.