ABSTRACT

China’s new retail revolution will completely transform how the world thinks about retail and digital innovation. But is the world ready yet? In this book, the authors share an insider’s perspective on what is happening in China to reveal the future for global retail, and a clear framework to help you prepare.

The book presents a number of real-world cases, based on interviews and first-hand consumer experience, to decode China’s retail revolution so that you can understand what is happening and why, and what it means for the rest of the world. Crucially, the book identifies five critical stages in the development of new retail that global retail executives need to grasp now: lifestyle commerce, Online-Merge-Offline retail, social retail, livestream retail and invisible retail. To help the industry get ready for this new, China-inspired paradigm in retail, the authors present a practical and simple framework – a ten-year strategic roadmap for global retail executives, which we call the “Beyond” the Value Chain Model.

China’s new retail is not just about fashion, cosmetics, snacks, data-driven convenient stores and commercial live streaming. At a time when the world of retail is being upended, it offers inspirational lessons in innovation, purpose and agility for global executives across the entire retail spectrum.

chapter 1|14 pages

Introduction

The new world of disruption

part I|67 pages

Four pillars of new retail

chapter 2|19 pages

The rise of China's e-commerce

A two-decade boom

chapter 3|17 pages

The ubiquitous express delivery

The hidden power of retail

chapter 4|12 pages

Third-party payment

Turning China into a cashless society

chapter 5|17 pages

Social media platforms

The new retail accelerator

part II|111 pages

Five stages of new retail

chapter 6|20 pages

Location-based e-commerce

Lifestyle remade

chapter 7|20 pages

Fresh food

Merging online and offline

chapter 8|27 pages

Social e-commerce

Reaching the bottom of the pyramid

chapter 9|27 pages

Livestream celebrity selling

Taking retail by storm

chapter 10|15 pages

Ultimate experience retail

When craft meets e-commerce

part III|36 pages

Making sense of new retail

chapter 11|16 pages

Three kingdoms

The invisible hand of ecosystems

chapter 12|18 pages

The conclusion

Retail reinvented in China for the world