Yihan Ma
Research expert covering e-commerce and FMCG in Greater China
Grocery shopping in China - statistics & facts
Grocery shopping in China has undergone a profound revolution over the past few decades. Less than half a century ago, most people in the country had to rely on ration coupons for food and daily necessities. Today, consumers in many cities can order goods produced from far and near via their smartphones and have them delivered to their doorstep within 30 minutes. Estimates show that China ranked among the world’s largest grocery markets and is expected to overtake the United States in the near future.
Alongside the increased disposable incomes, China’s food and personal care market also saw a rapid rise in the past decades. With thousands of grocery retailers opening across the country, the sales value of fast-moving consumer goods grew by over 50 percent in the past ten years.
Buy more, buy better
Of the many outcomes of China’s economic reformation over the years, one that has affected the public positively was the steady increase in disposable income across the nation. While a large disparity still exists between the annual per capita income of rural and urban households, one cannot help but acknowledge the rate at which household net income has increased since 1990.Alongside the increased disposable incomes, China’s food and personal care market also saw a rapid rise in the past decades. With thousands of grocery retailers opening across the country, the sales value of fast-moving consumer goods grew by over 50 percent in the past ten years.
Online grocery shopping
Brick-and-mortar grocery stores still dominates China’s grocery purchases. Nevertheless, the country has witnessed robust growth in its e-grocery retail business. By 2023, online retail held around a third of the FMCG retail market in China, thanks to the rapidly developing internet penetration and postal services. Fresh food was one of the fastest developing sectors within online retail. In 2023, the online transaction volume of fresh e-commerce surpassed 640 billion yuan, with more than 500 million consumers purchasing fresh food from the most popular e-commerce companies. Online shoppers claimed to find grocery shopping most convenient on e-commerce platforms and were usually quite satisfied with product delivery services as well as food safety aspects.Q-commerce: the next chapter of grocery retail
Despite the rapid growth of the online grocery market, consumers still encounter challenges when purchasing fresh produce through traditional e-commerce platforms. Lengthy delivery times and the high costs associated with cold-chain logistics remain significant pain points. These limitations have created an opportunity for the rise of quick commerce businesses, which focus on ultra-fast delivery to meet consumer demand for convenience and freshness. Among all quick commerce providers in the fresh food sector, Alibaba’s Freshippo and JD.com’s JD Now are the market leaders .
