---
title: "Young People 'Dismantle' 618, Local Retail Rises"
description: "Despite platforms reporting growth for 618, many young consumers feel the shopping festival is quiet and have stopped stockpiling goods. The rise of local retail and instant delivery is reshaping consumption habits, making traditional e-commerce promotions less appealing."
author: "燃次元工作室"
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published: "2023-06-26"
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# Young People 'Dismantle' 618, Local Retail Rises

> Despite platforms reporting growth for 618, many young consumers feel the shopping festival is quiet and have stopped stockpiling goods. The rise of local retail and instant delivery is reshaping consumption habits, making traditional e-commerce promotions less appealing.

Xie Zhongxiu

618 has passed, and various platforms have successively released their results, indicating continued growth. For example, JD.com announced that "the growth rate of JD.com 618 in 2023 exceeded expectations, setting a new record," and Taobao Tmall also said that "this year's Taobao Tmall 618 saw positive growth across all three indicators: users, merchant scale, and transactions." However, in the absence of specific figures such as GMV and year-on-year growth rates, and based on consumers' own feelings, "quiet" and "cold" remain the impressions most consumers have of this 618.

"I only bought some necessities like clothing," "As someone renovating, I only bought renovation-related items," "I browsed for days and couldn't find anything I wanted to buy," "I haven't participated in shopping festivals for a long time," many consumers said. In the past, major promotions were times when consumers stocked up in bulk, buying daily consumables such as shampoo, body wash, tissue, sanitary pads, and beauty care products like masks and lotions, enough for half a year or even a year. This constituted the main force of promotional consumption. But this 618, young people seem to have stopped stockpiling.

"I haven't finished the daily consumables I bought during last year's Double 11 and Double 12," "I'm still using laundry beads I stocked up on in March 2022," "I still have a few sanitary pads left from the Double 11 in 2021," several consumers told Ranciyuan. With the rise of live streaming and daily activities on various channels, the price appeal of major promotions is also being eroded. "I think prices in live streams are already cheap on a regular basis. For 618, you have to meet thresholds and stay up late, which is unnecessary," consumer Xingxing said bluntly.

Behind the decision not to stockpile, a deeper reason is the change in consumption habits. With the growth of local retail supply, most daily necessities can be bought through food delivery and front warehouses. Tmall Supermarket, JD.com, and other channels are fiercely competing on logistics, with instant delivery and next-day delivery better meeting the needs of today's young people, making stockpiling unnecessary.

"Now for many personal care daily necessities, like shampoo and sanitary pads, I open Meituan Waimai when I need them and take advantage of Watsons' deals. There are daily discounts, and with additional promotions like 199-60 yuan or 299-100 yuan, the prices are even cheaper than during big promotions," consumer Maomao said. "For consumables like tissue, I buy from Tmall Supermarket or fresh e-commerce when I'm about to run out, and they arrive the next day."

Whether 618 is "setting new records" or "quiet," consumer demand still exists, but changes are happening. The digitalization of physical stores has increased, and high-frequency daily consumption like instant retail has dismantled the need for stockpiling during e-commerce festivals. At the same time, the improved digitalization of physical stores has driven the rise of local retail, with products that better understand local consumers and are more distinctive, also taking a share of the cake from online retail channels. This 618, offline seems more lively than online.

Many consumers shared the bargains they got on food delivery platforms, such as toothpaste, masks, sanitary pads, shampoo, as well as cat litter, ice cream, MUJI products, and offline promotions at cosmetics counters, exclaiming "what a deal." Some consumers even bluntly said, "Only offline really fought during 618."

Data from Meituan Flash Purchase, the largest instant retail platform, shows that from May 25 to June 18, Meituan Flash Purchase, together with over 700,000 offline stores in 8 core categories across 360+ cities, launched the "Super Store Shopping Festival." During the event, Meituan Flash Purchase sales increased 66% year-on-year, merchant numbers grew 42%, and participating users increased 57%.

A Financial Times reporter once wrote that in the early 1990s, industry bosses often recited the three secrets to their success: location, location, location. With the development of e-commerce, the key elements of retail became: traffic, traffic, traffic. But now, with changes in consumer demand, local retail has become a priority scenario for shopping, and the secret of retail has added another: instant, instant, instant. Location is no longer the core, traffic is not the only thing, and meeting users' needs for "think, buy, get instantly," with rich supply and price competitiveness, has become the new trend. Changes have already occurred, and merchants and platforms must adapt.

**Young People Stop Stockpiling**

Young people who have had enough of stockpiling refuse to do so this 618. As a "stockpiler," Dabai only moderately bought milk and tissue this 618, and restocked some skincare products. "I didn't buy a lot, just bought when I saw a good deal," Dabai said. In terms of price, Dabai felt, "This year's 618 prices are about the same as before, with similar discounts. The milk price, from what I've observed, is probably the cheapest in the past six months." The reason Dabai stopped stockpiling is that previous stock hasn't been used up. "The daily consumables I bought during Double 11 and Double 12 haven't been used up, like tissue, kitchen paper, wet toilet paper, face towels... there are many. Because these things are used very slowly."

Nini, who used to buy large quantities of daily necessities during promotions, stocking up for half a year or even a year, now feels the difficulty of taking advantage of deals and stockpiling. "In the past, during promotions, I would buy enough sanitary pads for a year at once. But this year, I only managed to get 8 packs, enough for about three or four months. And it was extremely difficult to get these deals," Nini shared. Compared to the "rock-bottom prices" of past promotions, consumers now feel that promotions lack "price sincerity." "The prices on all platforms are similar, and they're about the same as regular activities," Nini said bluntly.

Unlike Dabai and Nini, who still selectively take advantage of deals and stockpile, Xingxing and Maomao have already abandoned the habit of stockpiling. "I usually take advantage of big promotions like 618 to buy skincare products, stocking up enough to last until the next promotion. But this year, I didn't stock up because the price difference is small, and live streams are already cheap on a regular basis," Xingxing shared. "As for daily necessities, like shampoo, I now almost always buy one when I have one left, and I don't stockpile." "Occasionally, I'll take advantage of 'deals' on fresh e-commerce, like when I bought sanitary pads at Hema before. They had a buy-one-get-one-free promotion, and the price was better than Taobao, so I bought them," Xingxing said.

Source/Visual China

Maomao, after browsing around, found that she didn't need to stockpile daily necessities because she already buys enough on food delivery platforms. "I buy Watsons on Meituan Waimai. The channel is reliable, the prices are discounted, and delivery is fast. Why would I stockpile for 618?" "Sanitary pads originally priced at 35.9 yuan, with discounts and full reduction, I bought 6 packs for 70 yuan; Lv's shampoo and hair oil, I can get them for 30-40 yuan; La Roche-Posay masks, 10 for over 80 yuan, cheaper than Li Jiaqi's live stream," Maomao shared her bills. "And these activities don't require waiting for a semi-annual promotion; they happen from time to time." Now, Maomao is used to buying personal care products on food delivery platforms at any time. Whenever she needs personal care products, she opens the food delivery app to check activities and prices. For 618 promotions, stockpiling is no longer in these young people's consideration.

**The 'Fire' Spreads to Local**

Platforms are still releasing 618 "results." For example, JD.com said that as of 23:59 on June 18, the growth rate of JD.com 618 in 2023 exceeded expectations, setting a new record, with a large number of brand merchants achieving impressive growth during this JD.com 618. Taotian Group also said that this year's Taobao Tmall 618 saw positive growth across all three indicators: users, merchant scale, and transactions. "This is not only the 618 with the largest investment in history, but also the one with the highest user participation and the largest merchant participation scale." But there is no GMV or growth rate data to support this. And consumers' "quiet" feeling, along with the voices of delivery drivers saying "not busy," seem more specific and intuitive.

On the other side of the decline in online 618 enthusiasm, offline enthusiasm seems to be rising. Many consumers shared the "deals" they got on Meituan for masks, cat litter, milk, and other daily necessities, saying, "The 618 deals are endless," "The cat litter mountain I built during 618, Meituan is really generous this year with such big cat litter promotions," and "618 convenience store activities are a good deal." This year, Meituan also joined the "battle," intensifying its monthly 18th God Coupon Festival and, for the first time, partnering with catering merchants, making 618 not just retail but also catering participating in the promotion.

"During 618, Meituan Waimai seemed to do live streaming for three consecutive days, and I heard they invited Huang Zitao," said Maomao, who often uses Meituan for daily meals. "Recently, I tried a Meituan Waimai feature where you can buy food delivery coupons through live streaming and use them directly when ordering. It's very cost-effective and convenient." Ranciyuan noticed that this year, Meituan joined the 618 with intensified live streaming, inviting celebrities like Huang Zitao and food influencers to participate, with brands including Starbucks, Heytea, Shanghai Auntie, Haidilao, and Lao Xiang Ji, offering heavily discounted products.

Data shows that Meituan's catering delivery merchants participated in 618 as a group for the first time, and physical catering brands using Meituan's live streaming to increase customer acquisition became a highlight. During Meituan's 618 God Coupon Festival live streaming, Starbucks' new customer weekly growth (compared to the week before the event) increased 159%, and Haidilao's new customer weekly growth increased 64%. In terms of sales, during the live streaming, Starbucks launched exclusive new products for Meituan delivery for the first time, with Frappuccino series sales increasing 370% week-on-week; Cudi Coffee's coconut latte single product sales increased 138% week-on-week; and Haidilao sales increased 51% week-on-week.

As for Flash Purchase, Meituan's performance is as excellent as ever. In addition to user, sales, and merchant numbers all growing over 50% year-on-year, this 618 saw instant retail show all-category prosperity, with multiple categories achieving triple-digit growth.

Image/Meituan 618 God Coupon Festival (left) Meituan Flash Purchase 618 "Super Store Shopping Festival" results (right) Source/Meituan Waimai Local Life WeChat public account (left) Meituan Flash Purchase Merchant Center WeChat public account (right)

Why is instant retail booming? The Economic Daily observed this trend, writing, "Instant retail, with its 'local entity + instant delivery' model, effectively links merchants and consumers. From the merchant's perspective, it provides offline physical stores with the opportunity to participate in large shopping festivals, rather than just online revelry. It overcomes the barriers of space and information, with online and offline working together to help the overall social consumption recovery and further tap consumption potential. Instant retail platform data shows that during this year's '618,' consumption growth in third-tier and below cities was more impressive than in first-tier cities, thanks to the continuous development of new business formats like instant retail."

A person in charge of Meituan Flash Purchase's quality department store said, "The continuous growth in orders is due to more and more users getting used to 'think, buy, get instantly,' and to our continuous optimization of the user shopping experience."

Retail is accelerating its recovery and return. Data from the May 2023 national economic report shows that in May, total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,780.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%, with goods retail increasing 10.5% and catering revenue increasing 35.1%. With changes in consumer behavior and preferences, local retail is developing even more strongly.

In the past, retail data was concentrated during e-commerce festivals like 618 and Double 11. But with the rise of local consumption, traditional e-commerce cannot meet consumers' needs for affordable and distinctive products, and the 1-3 day delivery time cannot improve the experience for young consumers. Therefore, local retail has begun to grow under new demand. At the same time, from the consumer's perspective, consumption is returning to the neighborhood, with residents favoring certain and instant consumption experiences. In the past, traditional e-commerce relied on product variety to move consumption online. But with the increasing richness of community retail products and the emergence of new formats like instant retail, residents' demand for fresh food and groceries is showing a trend of returning to local.

Data from various platforms also highlights this trend. E-commerce Q1 financial reports show that in Q1 2023, Alibaba's revenue was 208.2 billion yuan (RMB, same below), a slight year-on-year increase of 2%, with Taobao and Tmall's online physical goods GMV (excluding unpaid orders) recording a single-digit decline year-on-year. During the same period, JD.com's revenue was 243 billion yuan, with growth of only 1.4%. Meituan's Q1 report shows that in Q1, Meituan achieved revenue of 58.62 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%. Compared to e-commerce promotions, shopping is more convenient, with what you need obtained immediately and delivered instantly; discounts are increased, and promotional activities become daily; merchants are abundant, pursuing small profits and quick turnover. Local retail has entered the fast lane of development.

**The Retail Battlefield Has Changed**

Maomao feels that with the enrichment of categories, more and more people around her are choosing local retail to meet their needs. "For daily needs like tape measures and utility knives, I can open Meituan Waimai and find the products." What impressed Maomao most was, "Last National Day, I returned from a trip and found my cat had peed all over the bed. It was around 6 or 7 in the evening, but I was too tired from the trip to go out, so I ended up buying a quilt core and quilt cover from Meituan and changing them." "Another time, also last October, Beijing had a sudden temperature drop. My apartment has central cooling and heating, but it wasn't time for heating yet, so I had to endure. Finally, I was so cold that I bought an electric blanket from Meituan Waimai and could sleep well," Maomao recalled.

Now, whether it's a kite or picnic mat needed temporarily for a spring outing, or batteries, Maomao opens Meituan. "A couple of days ago, our dance studio needed oil-paper umbrellas as props, and a classmate actually opened Meituan, searched for 'oil-paper umbrella,' and found related products."

Image/Classmate searching for "oil-paper umbrella" on Meituan Waimai (left) Maomao's Watsons sanitary pads purchased via Meituan Waimai (right) Source/Provided by Maomao

With changes in consumer demand, Meituan's long-term investment and accumulation, unlike e-commerce, are also starting to play a greater role. Among Chinese tech companies, Meituan has been based on local retail since its inception, and through building local warehouses, optimizing local specialty product supply chains, and R&D capabilities, it helps local retail improve its supply side, providing reliable industrial support for the development of local retail.

In the past, physical stores could only rely on their location, typically covering residents within a 1,000-meter radius. How to reach more consumers better and faster was a pain point for physical stores. But with Meituan's instant delivery becoming infrastructure, Meituan is also helping local physical stores and supermarkets expand their business scope and increase customer flow, from serving consumers at their doorstep to serving community residents within a 5-kilometer radius.

We can see that more and more stores are joining local retail and increasing their digitalization. For example, opening Meituan's "Supermarket Convenience" and "See a Doctor and Buy Medicine" channels, you can see that nearby supermarkets, convenience stores, and pharmacies have almost all connected to Meituan Waimai, providing instant retail services.

In addition, to enrich supply, with the continuous construction by retail enterprises like Meituan, SF, and Hema, most towns across the country have initially established retail infrastructure that meets residents' high-quality living needs, forming a retail infrastructure network from central warehouses, grid warehouses, front warehouses to community pickup points and convenience stores, ensuring more goods are supplied to community residents faster and at lower prices.

For example, this summer, riding the instant retail express train, many old national brand beverages and ice cream products saw sales soar. Meituan data shows that since June, orders for "domestic eight major beverages" on the platform increased 29% year-on-year. Some brands not only expanded local consumption space through food delivery platforms, but some also sold to other provinces. In the first five months of this year, 60% of Beibingyang's instant retail orders came from outside the province, and Guangdong's Yazhou soda saw a 31% year-on-year increase in out-of-province sales orders.

Technology is also accelerating the process of physical stores joining the instant retail system and improving digitalization. Shanghai's Kaiji Teahouse uses every review and consumption record on Dianping to form feedback and support for store operations, achieving online operation and service standardization: in the teahouse, the 32-yuan mixed fruit is the TOP1 recommended by netizens; the Nannuo Pu'er ice-extracted tea in wine bottles also catches the eyes of young people.

In more than ten specialty dining districts in Beijing, including Guijie in Dongcheng District, Yuejie in Haidian District, Solana in Chaoyang District, and Longhu Shidai Tianjie in Daxing District, the "digital dining districts" have merchants saying, "You have a new Meituan Waimai order," along with the bustling sounds of the restaurant, becoming the normal background music in the store, "helping us save a lot of worry and making operations more manageable."

Meituan's self-developed "Morning Glory System" starts from merchant operation links such as product management, fulfillment management, employee management, financial management, user management, and supply chain management, helping merchants reduce costs and increase efficiency in a full-chain, full-scenario manner; using drone R&D and applications to meet consumer demand and create consumption scenarios is also one of Meituan's technology exploration directions.

But the development of local retail also has regional differences and a longer road to occupy user mindshare. "I usually take advantage of deals on Meituan Waimai for convenience store products like ice cream. But Watsons and MUJI are unlikely because in our third- and fourth-tier city, these stores don't exist. Most daily necessities, like the masks and shampoo people say are good deals, are still bought from e-commerce platforms," Nini said bluntly.

Xingxing said, "I've always heard friends say Meituan has many deals, but I've never encountered one, so I haven't been able to build familiarity and preference for Meituan."

With the improvement of physical stores' digitalization and the emergence of new formats like front-warehouse instant retail, local consumption is rising, and local retail has built a complete business format. The significance of promoting the recovery of local physical stores through instant retail goes beyond linking consumers and merchants. It widely connects physical stores scattered across the country, meets local demand through local supply, creates local tax revenue, and solves local employment, which clearly helps smooth the "capillaries" of the economy.

Faster, cheaper, and more locally attuned physical retail is developing rapidly, and a new retail landscape has arrived.

Title image and some in-text images are from Visual China. Xingxing, Maomao, Dabai, and Nini in the text are pseudonyms.


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