January 2018 JD.com, China’s second largest e-commerce company, launched its first offline fresh-food supermarket, called 7Fresh. I went to take a detailed look…
Located in Beijing near JD headquarters in Yizhuang district this is their response to China’s booming market for online fresh food shopping and this growing segment of the domestic retail market.
4,000-square metres of floor space. It’s a true manifestation of the merging of online and offline. It’s equipped with “smarts” and serves as both a physical store for consumers and fulfilment for on-line orders.
The retail component of the store itself is a mix between Wholefoods, Eataly and a traditional supermarket, it combines cooked and fresh-food offerings. In an eclectic selection of products, it includes fruits from New Zealand and beef from Australia, a live wet fish market and cooked-food stalls where you can pick up and either eat there or take away from traditional Chinese food, salads to Pizza.
Its “smart” components include carts which can help guide shoppers to the right aisles. The entire store is based on JD’s smart logistics system. It’s so smart that 7Fresh will know what you want better that you will. Getting smarter about you the more frequently you visit. The system also powers a delivery services so on line shoppers can get their groceries in about 30 minutes in a defined area around the store.
This store is impressive and a testament to how advanced China is in retailing today and especially the world lead it now has in the convergence of online and offline retailing. 7Fresh is a physical manifestation of seamless integration of online and offline shopping systems that will be the model for the future of retail globally.
The retail world should sit up and take note.
For key insights on JD.COM and the implications of 7Fresh to you as well as understanding JD.COM please get in contact with me. To learn more about JD.COM please watch my documentary film “Hidden Dragon. The Rise of an E-commerce Giant”
See inside the store click on the image below.
