Meituan Instashopping plans to expand its “lightning warehouse” system – online-only fulfillment hubs optimized for rapid delivery – to digital appliances this year, following strong growth in convenience store partnerships, local media Jiemian News reported on March 18. Several digital appliance brands are in talks with Meituan over cooperation, the report added.
Lightning warehouses operate independently of standard supply chains, accepting only online orders, offering a wider product selection and greater efficiency than traditional community supermarkets. A standard Meituan lightning warehouse stocks 6,000 to 10,000 stock keeping units (SKU), compared to a few hundred in conventional stores. Meituan partners with merchants to set up offline warehouses, providing online traffic, product selection guidance, and 30-minute delivery. The new appliance-focused warehouses will follow Meituan’s model with budget retailer Miniso, which launched more than 800 lightning warehouse-style “24H Super Stores” last year.
Meituan has been expanding its instant retail and warehouse network in recent years, surpassing 30,000 locations across multiple categories. The company reported 54% year-on-year order growth for the period from January to August 2024 in lower-tier markets, where Lightning Warehouses often prioritize budget-friendly items. Over 30,000 such warehouses operated across China by late 2023, according to Wang Puzhong, CEO of Meituan’s core local commerce unit. [Jiemian,in Chinese]
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