2026 years, over 1 trillion in GMV, and an average of 7.9 orders per user per month: For supermarkets embracing instant retail, speed is no longer the only game.
According to calculations by the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce,The instant retail market size will exceed 1 trillion yuan in 2026 years, and is expected to reach 2 trillion by 2030.According to NielsenIQ's "2026 Instant Retail Insights Report," the average monthly spending per user across the entire platform has reached7.9 timesNearly half of consumers make 2 or more purchases weekly. Among shoppers who visited instant retail supermarkets in the past 7 days, the proportion rose from 17% in 2024 to 24% in 2026.
These numbers represent one thing:Instant retail is no longer a "supplementary channel" for supermarkets; it is reshaping their product selection, inventory, organization, and store models. It is an extension of the business model, not just a food delivery entry point.
"12.6% average annual growth during the 15th Five-Year Plan"
49% purchase 2 or more times per week
Used Instant Retail (2024 only 17%)
1. Correction: Treating instant retail as a "digital channel" is the most costly misconception.
Over the past decade, instant retail has built infrastructure centered on speed—integrated store-warehouse-delivery and 30-minute delivery. But in 2026, the industry's focus shifted from fulfillment to products. At this year's industry summit, Meituan Instashopping was the first to clearly articulate this shift:The era of warehouse-store distribution is over; the product-driven era has arrived.
For traditional supermarkets, this means instant retail affects three core accounts—not just "adding another platform."
Migrating the entire offline inventory online, warehousing thousands of SKUs, and relying on platform dispatch and subsidies to drive volume. The result: long-tail items remain stagnant, warehousing costs are high, and every order incurs a loss.
One supply chain, one curated product selection serving in-store, home delivery, and dark store scenarios; inventory, labor efficiency, and assortment planning managed across all channels.
Daiwa Research Institute Vice President Zhang Xiaoduan summarized the logic of internet platforms operating offline supermarkets as"Full-domain accounting"It's not just about single-store profitability—it's about the synergistic value across supply chain, private labels, traffic, and delivery. Traditional supermarkets going online need to learn exactly this:It's not about adding a delivery button to stores; it's about redefining stores as nodes that are both browsable and fulfillable.
II. How Traditional Hypermarkets Can Adapt: Leveraging Existing Stores for "Store-Warehouse Synergy"
Unlike capital-backed platforms such as Hema and XiaoXiang, the key theme for traditional supermarkets in this round isLeverage existing stores and supply chains to fulfill online orders without starting from scratch.. Several working samples:
RT-Mart's front-warehouse strategy centers on "store-warehouse synergy": leveraging existing hypermarket supply chains and staff to deploy ~500 sqm medium-sized warehouses nearby, each carrying ~6000 SKUs. In 2026, the company announced a new round of scaled expansion, entering Tianjin, Shanghai, Wuxi, and Tongliao in 8.
The key lies in "reuse"—warehouses aren't built from scratch. Supply chain, procurement, and staffing all leverage the parent organization, which is why traditional players can make the numbers work.
Yonghui has spun off its original in-store dark stores into a parallel business format called "Yonghui Online Supermarket." This new unit operates as an independent business division with dedicated professional teams, autonomous financial management, and full profit-and-loss responsibility.
Vice President Lin Hongdong revealed that Yonghui has already achieved a breakthrough.Online supermarket UE model (unit economics) achieving profitability in 6 months. Chongqing's 41 forward warehouses cover the core areas of the central urban district, with Tongjiang Station serving over 10 people and processing nearly 4000 orders daily.
ALDI China reports that "hourly delivery" now accounts for approximately 1/3 of sales. Sam's Club takes this further, leveraging its "store + cloud warehouse" model.Over 50% of sales come from online channels.。
Their common foundation is a curated "wide category, narrow assortment" inventory: ALDI keeps total SKUs under 2000, while Sam's Club selects approximately 1000 high-repeat-purchase SKUs. Fewer SKUs mean faster turnover and shallower inventory—ideal for 30-minute fulfillment.
3. Shift the battlefield to "products": product selection logic is being rewritten
This is the most critical section for supermarket product departments to note.Consumers expecting 30-minute delivery aren't stocking up—they have a specific use case and need an immediate solution.Transferring the entire offline inventory online will inevitably lead to poor adaptation.
NielsenIQ's data is straightforward:81% of categories grew due to differentiated products; differentiated premium products accounted for 55% of the total growth.Light inventory and high turnover in Lightning Warehouses force merchants to treat "what to stock" as a make-or-break issue—following the same curation logic used by membership warehouses and hard-discount retailers.
At the product level, there are three changes:
4. Four Actionable Recommendations for Regional Supermarkets
Not every supermarket needs to set up a front warehouse, but every one should figure out how to "go online":
The first trillion-dollar opportunity in instant retail is about who delivers fastest; the second is about what you stock and how you display it on shelves.
For supermarkets, the real turning point isn't whether they join a platform—it'sDid you treat it as a reconstruction of your business model?— Serve both in-store and online customers with the same supply chain, curated product selection, and a separate accounting unit.
Those who grasp this point see instant retail as growth; those who don't, see it merely as food delivery orders that require subsidizing fulfillment costs.