Why Chinese shoppers are ditching supermarkets for small ‘community stores’

Young Chinese favour local grocery stores offering low prices and fast delivery, with some saying they haven’t been to a supermarket in years For Cindy Wang, the newly opened “community store” near her home in Guangzhou has been a godsend: the small outlet is cheaper than a traditional supermarket, but offers a bigger range of groceries than convenience stores like 7-Eleven. The 20-something now often stops off at the shop after work to pick up a few items. On an early September evening, she has bagged a bottle of milk for just 7 yuan (US$1), a 2.5 yuan beer and some mangoes priced at 10 yuan per kilogram. “It’s convenient and enjoyable, and I can still have a decent shopping experience without spending too much,” Wang said. Community stores like this one are becoming a major new battleground in China’s retail sector, as consumers ditch big-box stores in favour of smaller neighbourhood outlets offering low prices and instant delivery services. For shoppers, community stores offer a mix of advantages, analysts say. They offer a greater array of fresh groceries than convenience stores, but they tend to be easier to get to than supermarkets.

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