On May 2, Taobao's official Weibo announced that the instant retail business "Taobao Flash Sale" was fully launched four days in advance. From now on, users across the country can receive large red envelopes and order takeout through the App homepage entrance, covering categories such as food, supermarket convenience, medicine, clothing and department stores, and mobile digital products. Previously, this business was upgraded from "hourly delivery". It was originally planned to be promoted nationwide on May 6, but it was launched earlier due to market popularity.
The upgraded "Taobao Flash Sale" integrates Ele.me's resources, jointly launches over 10 billion subsidy activities such as free red envelopes and large discount coupons, and connects the Tmall flagship store and offline store pallets to achieve an "e-commerce low price + fast delivery" experience.
At present, Ele.me's full category supply has been opened to Taobao flash sales, covering more than 3 million stores. At the same time, it cooperates with brand malls Chengcang and aims to connect to 200 core chain brands.
Source: Taobao official Weibo
Competition in the real-time retail market is intensifying. JD.com will upgrade "JD Instant Delivery" in 2024, while Meituan will set "Flash Sale" as a separate entrance on the homepage on April 15. Platforms such as Douyin and Oriental Selection are also accelerating their deployment in this field.
According to the "Instant Retail Industry Development Report (2024)", the market size will exceed one trillion yuan in 2025, with a compound growth rate of 15% in the next five years. West China Securities pointed out that real-time retail has strong barriers and user stickiness, and the focus of competition in the future will shift to full-category expansion and sinking into the market.
Source: Instant Retail Industry Development Report (2024)