Competition in the internet era has entered the second half, an indisputable fact. Since Jack Ma proposed the 'Five New' strategy—New Retail, New Finance, New Manufacturing, New Technology, and New Energy—at the Yunqi Conference in October 2016, 'New Retail' has become the focus of this second half. Alibaba, JD.com, and other internet giants are laying out 'New Retail' strategies, leveraging internet tools to integrate supply chains and disrupt traditional distribution models for offline retail stores. Alibaba was the first to enter with its 'Retail Link + Tmall Small Store' product and service solution. In Alibaba's strategy, among the 'Five New' initiatives, only 'New Retail' can quickly capture offline traffic entrances and ultimately control offline traffic. Once offline traffic entrances are successfully captured, the remaining 'New Finance, New Manufacturing, New Technology, and New Energy' will naturally follow and be resolved. JD.com followed closely, under its New Channel strategy, grandly announcing its plan for one million JD convenience stores, adopting a 'rural surrounding city' approach, initially establishing over 10,000 JD convenience stores. In less than a year since 'New Retail' was proposed, new business formats such as unmanned retail, unmanned shelves, various chain convenience stores, and vending machines have sprung up like mushrooms. New Windfall: Retail B2B Thrives In recent years, under the impact of e-commerce, China's retail industry has irreversibly entered a downward channel, with most retail enterprises facing a dual decline in revenue and profitability. The supermarket industry faces enormous operational pressure. Many large regional supermarkets such as Jiahe, Baiquan, and Zeyu have been gradually eliminated, going bankrupt. Countless retail manufacturers, in a desperate move, are struggling to transform and save themselves. While many supermarkets are closing with tragic endings and facing choices, street convenience stores are bucking the trend with growth. In 2015, growth reached 8.4%, sales increased by 15.2%, and national penetration increased by 8.5%. The retail market continues to evolve, with convenience stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets, and other channels facing different opportunities and challenges. Since 2013, retail B2B platforms have emerged, bringing new life to the retail industry. Retail B2B platforms, with the fundamental purpose of improving efficiency and reducing costs, leverage network technology to promote the development of small and medium-sized supermarkets, providing suppliers and convenience stores with convenient, transparent, and secure one-stop B2B comprehensive services. Driven by the development of internet technology and consumption upgrades, retail B2B e-commerce has developed rapidly. In 2015, mainstream enterprises and investment institutions began to lay out retail B2B, bringing it into people's视野. In 2016, the real economy declined, and traditional industries faced transformation. Meanwhile, retail B2B, relying on internet innovation, grew rapidly, with Chinese retail B2B platforms springing up like mushrooms. With capital support, they grew rapidly and fiercely, with各方 competing. According to Kantar Retail's '2016 China FMCG Internet B2B Market Report', as of November 2016, there were over 70 retail B2B platforms in the Chinese market, receiving total investments exceeding 5 billion yuan. According to statistics, in the first half of 2017, there were 15 financing events in the retail B2B industry, with 7 involving amounts at the ten-million yuan level and 5 at the hundred-million yuan level or above. It can be seen that although retail B2B is still in its early stages, its growth rate and potential are astonishing, making it a new windfall. Promising Future, but a Long Road Ahead for Retail B2B Retail B2B has a promising future, but various problems have emerged in the industry's development. FMCG B2B began trial runs in 2013, yet the online penetration rate of FMCG remains low. For example, only 16% of small stores are willing to cooperate with B2B platforms. Small stores already have fixed channels for purchasing from agents and wholesalers, making it difficult for them to abandon their existing networks and adopt entirely new channels. To get more people to accept the retail B2B model, there is still a long way to go. First, B2B platforms must streamline product and ordering processes, improve logistics and delivery, and support business and services to achieve the best service. Second, continuously enhance big data capabilities. B2B platforms obtain large amounts of data through online transactions and terminal basic software, using big data to serve manufacturers and convenience stores. Finally, provide value-added services to convenience stores. Help convenience stores complete modernization and informatization upgrades, while directly acting as a seller, connecting the industry chain, and helping small stores sell goods to consumers. In the context of New Retail, solving the difficulties in the retail B2B industry requires close collaboration among upstream and downstream entities such as convenience stores and brand owners, as well as payment technology support. From brand owners to B2B platforms, to convenience stores, and then to consumers, solving the fund processing and security of B2B2C is extremely important. For example, YeePay, a representative third-party payment institution, provides industry solutions for retail B2B platforms. It achieves low-cost network-wide acquiring at the front end, fund clearing such as split accounting and profit sharing at the middle end, and flexible fund settlement and value-added services like finance and credit at the back end, providing one-stop payment and value-added services for B2B platforms. Outlook: Where is the Future of Retail B2B? In April this year, JD.com grandly announced plans to open over one million JD convenience stores nationwide within five years. In August, Alibaba's Retail Link stated it would cover one million small stores by the end of 2018. According to Tobey Research statistics, 12 FMCG B2B e-commerce companies have already launched franchise or direct-operated models to expand offline convenience store business. Giants like Alibaba and JD.com are increasing their focus on terminal retail, making the layout of small stores an important part of current FMCG industry competition. Furthermore, as retail B2B deepens, B2B platforms can provide credit support and funds to small stores based on accumulated transaction data. Encourage the addition of new categories and products to create more sales opportunities. Matching platforms can provide supply chain finance support to distributors and logistics providers, alleviating financial pressure on partners. At the same time, with data support, B2B platforms will provide in-depth services. Enable brand owners to have more transparent market control and traceable channel investment; enable small stores to receive purchase suggestions that match market dynamics and scientific display assistance to improve efficiency; enable distributors to grasp market dynamics, improve inventory turnover, and capital efficiency. Finally, platforms are also seeking more distinctive products and differentiated services, striving to break through in existing models and build competitive advantages. B2B platforms will improve professional service capabilities beyond distribution and purchasing functions. By empowering retail terminals, provide more value-added services to small stores. Through financial services, create a second profit point; through consumer information, manage users and improve efficiency; Through the push of new categories and products, enhance the competitiveness of small stores. By deepening empowerment, they can adapt to the wave of consumption upgrades and build a highway for retail upgrading. Editor's PS: Zhao Wen, General Manager of YeePay's Industry Line, will attend the 2017 (3rd) FMCG + Internet Conference held by New Distribution on November 8-9 in Chongqing as a keynote speaker, where he will share more pioneering insights. Interested friends should not miss this conference. The 2017 (3rd) FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in November 2017. The conference will closely revolve around the theme 'New Forces, New Ecology', inviting 1000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, 200+ B2B platform founders, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to jointly explore a new chapter of cross-industry integration! Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet Conferences: 2016 'FMCG + Internet' Summit Forum -END-