Chinese consumers are driving growth in GDP (1), but Chinese companies are feeling the squeeze of a slowing economy (2). Retail giants are pivoting from a top-heavy conglomerate (3) to a sleeker more reliable provider (4) and expanding into agriculture (5) and rural regions (6), and driving growth in China’s on-demand services industry (7).
Despite the slowdown, China’s online retail sector is set to continue expanding (8), investing (9), and attracting new players (10).
The New Retail movement, in many ways spearheaded by Alibaba (11), is modernizing Retail in a way that Western retailers are finding challenging to mimic (12). From expanding into their own logistics, integrating a social component, and building communities around their platforms (13), Chinese retailers are leaving their European and American counterparts far behind.
References
China to surpass US as world's biggest consumer market this year
Briefing: Alibaba cuts travel spending, postpones hiring as economy slows
Briefing: JD to cut 10% of executives in 2019
Briefing: JD to hire 15,000 lower-tier staff in 2019
Pinduoduo to offer 3,500 new job positions in 2019 - China.org.cn
Alibaba challenger Pinduoduo is bringing imported goods to rural homes
Meituan to invest $1.7 billion in push to digitize merchant partners
Pinduoduo aims to raise more than US$1 billion in secondary offering
360 Finance plans to take on Pinduoduo with foray into social e-commerce
Alibaba extends New Retail push with US$693 million investment in STO Express
Alibaba augments its logistics arm by buying stake in STO Express – KrASIA