JD.com, a leading Chinese retailer, announced plans to launch five new discount superstores across two Chinese cities. This move is intended to help the company expand into new segments as competition escalates in its core e-commerce market.
The company confirmed on Tuesday that it will open supermarkets in Suqian, Jiangsu province and Zhuozhou city in Hebei province. These new discount stores will help the company to strengthen its position in the retail e-commerce market.
The first store in Zhuozhou will cover 5,00 square meters and will offer a wide range of products, from chocolate to detergents. Prices will be set lower than the current market rates.
JD entered the market last year by launching two smaller discount stores in Beijing, targeting cautious consumers. The move aimed to encourage spending amid a sluggish recovery in China’s consumption.
The 27-year-old e-commerce retailer introduced "instant delivery" services for food and other products earlier this year. This move sparked a subsidy war with competitors like Meituan and Alibaba.
The company also revealed plans to reignite its international expansion by launching its consumer-oriented express delivery service abroad. Additionally, it acquired Germany’s Ceconomy (CECG.DE), Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer, for $2.5 billion last month.
Other competitors have been restructuring their physical retail operations. Growing popularity and adoption of these expansion strategies are expected to boost the retail e-commerce industry during the forthcoming period.
“JD.com’s aggressive offline expansion signals a pivotal shift in e-commerce strategy, blending discount retail with logistics to win over price-sensitive consumers. This move intensifies pressure on rivals like Alibaba and Meituan, who must now respond to JD’s hybrid model in both urban and lower-tier markets,” said a lead CMI analyst.
According to Coherent Market Insights (CMI), the global retail e-commerce market is poised to exhibit a CAGR of 11.5% between 2025 and 2032. Total market valuation will likely increase from USD 7.29 Tn in 2025 to a staggering USD 15.62 Tn by 2032.
JD.com’s decision to open five new discount superstores shows that the company is changing its approach to keep up in the highly competitive retail e-commerce landscape. JD, by expanding into offline discount retailing, is aiming to capture value-conscious consumers.
This expansion is also expected to accelerate innovation as well as investment across the broader e-commerce ecosystem. JD’s move to combine physical retail, global delivery, and its Ceconomy acquisition reflects a shift among digital-first companies.
The company is blending physical assets with logistics to expand its footprint. Other retail e-commerce platforms may follow JD's suit by opening new discount stores in highly attractive markets like China, India, and the United States.
Sources:
News Outlet: Reuters
