Instant Retail Platform Announces Opening of Instant Retail Infrastructure Network Liquor and Beverage Industry Accelerates Entry Into Instant Retail | New Economy Observation

Ask AI · How can instant retail solve the traditional channel pain points in the alcohol and beverage industry?

Cover News Reporter Zhang Yuexi

As the alcohol and beverage industry enters a period of deep adjustment, stock competition and returning closer to consumer value have become the main themes. The industry is shifting from being driven by “business gift-giving” to “real consumer drinking,” focusing on how to get closer to consumers and improve the “opening rate,” which has become the industry’s key concern.

Recently, the 114th National Sugar and Wine Fair, which serves as a “industry barometer, new consumption scene, and new city landmark,” opened in Chengdu, drawing the attention of the global food, alcohol, and beverage industry once again to Chengdu. On March 23, the reporter learned that during the fair, Meituan Flash Purchase announced at the “2026 Instant Retail Alcohol Ecosystem Conference” the official launch of an instant retail growth stabilization support plan for the alcohol industry.

At the conference, Liu Zhenguo, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Alcohol Industry Association, pointed out that as consumers’ demand for convenience, scene-based consumption, and experience in alcohol consumption continues to rise, instant retail is not only a core tool for solving traditional channel pain points and precisely matching consumer needs but also a necessary path for reshaping the new pattern of alcohol circulation and promoting industry digital transformation. It has become an indispensable growth driver for the future development of the alcohol industry.

Currently, increasing the volume through instant retail has become a consensus in the alcohol and beverage industry. The “Mid-term Research Report on the Chinese Baijiu Market 2025” released by the China Alcohol Industry Association shows that by the first half of 2025, despite industry challenges, 80% of Baijiu producers maintained or increased their online presence. The China Alcohol Circulation Association’s “White Paper on the Development of the Chinese Alcohol Retail Chain Industry 2025” states that over 61% of alcohol retail chain companies will rely on multi-business models to drive development by 2025, with multi-channel integration behind the rapid growth of the instant retail market. It is expected that by 2027, the market size of instant retail alcohol will surpass 100 billion yuan.

Against this backdrop, how to enter instant retail in the most suitable way and with the lightest cost, returning closer to consumers, has become a common concern in the industry. What role can instant retail platforms play in this process? The reporter observed that the instant retail growth stabilization plan released by Meituan Flash Purchase targets well-known liquor brands, supporting them to set up “Official Flagship Stores for Instant Retail,” helping brands quickly access the infrastructure network of instant retail and achieve digitalization of offline stores. For distributors, support will be provided to set up official collection stores “Meituan Famous Liquor Stores,” ensuring authenticity through official selection, enabling quick sales. For retail brands pursuing lightweight asset operations, support will be given to establish “Alcohol and Beverage Lightning Warehouses,” allowing rapid, lightweight entry into instant retail and precise targeting of young consumers.

Beyond building a multi-layered instant retail infrastructure network, the platform is also working with numerous alcohol brands and merchants to strengthen the full-chain authenticity system, increase counterfeit management efforts, improve after-sales service standards, and innovate features like cold storage, thereby enhancing consumer trust in instant retail.

Driven by the goal of being closer to consumers and achieving higher opening rates, alcohol brands and merchants need to know more than ever “who is drinking the alcohol” and “in what scene.” Data has become a new production resource for the alcohol industry, and instant retail platforms have become the core carriers of alcohol consumption data.

Data shows that by 2025, 73% of instant retail alcohol orders through the platform are delivered to residential communities, serving family gatherings and celebrations; orders to parks and scenic spots increased by 108% year-on-year; orders to shopping malls and commercial centers grew by 56%; migration orders during travel accounted for nearly 23%; and late-night drinking orders from 6 p.m. to the next morning accounted for 70%. Real consumer demand, scenes closer to consumers, and higher opening rates make instant retail a certain growth engine for the industry’s transformation.

The reporter learned that as instant retail becomes a growth strategy for the alcohol industry, leading companies like Moutai, Fenjiu, and Tsingtao Beer have already begun to expand into instant retail in various ways. Public information shows that Moutai’s sauce-flavor liquor was among the first to set up an official instant retail flagship store; Fenjiu partnered with key distributors to set up Lightning Warehouses and began cross-city operations; Tsingtao Beer launched the “Fresh Direct” series of products with the platform. The collective embrace of instant retail by top alcohol brands marks a new stage where brands no longer distinguish between online and offline channels, elevating instant retail from channel innovation to a strategic consensus.

Industry insiders point out that instant retail is a strategic opportunity to define the next generation of consumption scenes. The industry should no longer worry about online disruption; instead, instant retail is a digital upgrade of offline stores, helping everyone get closer to users. Alcohol consumption is expanding from traditional dining scenes to everyday life, entering an era of all-day responsiveness. For the industry, planned consumption growth has peaked, and future instant consumption will become the new engine for growth.