China aims to revive physical stores, make them ‘immersive’, as shield against e-commerce
Beijing’s new 2030 retail road map targets price parity and social experiences to combat ‘trading down’ as retail growth hits weakest pace since pandemic
With retail sales growth cooling in May to the slowest pace since December 2022 and persistent weakness in big-ticket items extending through last month, Beijing has stepped in to reinvigorate bricks-and-mortar operators facing intense price competition from e-commerce platforms.
The Ministry of Commerce, together with eight other relevant authorities, on Thursday released guidelines to accelerate the innovative development of the retail sector. The document charts out a path for differentiated competition between online and offline retailers, featuring plans to build a more rational pricing system over the next few years.
The road map arrives against a backdrop of “trading down”, a trend that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic and has persisted through 2026. The behaviour sees shoppers switch from premium brands to lower-priced alternatives, or simply purchase less, due to economic uncertainty or less disposable income.
“Backed by highly efficient logistics networks and e-commerce platforms squeezing sellers’ profit margins to the extreme, online retail has maintained faster growth over recent years,” said Zhou Changqing, general manager at the Beijing-based Retail China consultancy.
To shore up consumption growth and upgrade the sector, the guidelines – which run through 2030 – stipulate that China will strive to transform physical retail spaces into destinations for shopping, immersive experiences and social entertainment.
Meanwhile, the government aims to ensure that online platforms maintain extensive product ranges alongside compliant business operations.