The more we stay at home, the more we shop?!

Grocery shopping in China has undergone a profound revolution over the past few decades. Less than half a century ago, most people had to rely on ration coupons to buy food and daily necessities. Today, consumers in many cities can order goods produced near or far through their smartphones and have them delivered to their doorsteps within 30 minutes.

IGD predicts that by 2022 , the US food retail market will reach $ 1,655 billion. China is close behind with a food market size of $ 1,627 billion. India, which ranks third, is expected to reach $ 656 billion.

Forecasted value of the world's largest grocery retail market in 2022 , by country ( in billions of dollars ) Source: Statista.com

The rise of China’s grocery market

Among the many achievements of China's economic reform over the years, the one that has a positive impact on the public is the steady growth of the disposable income of residents across the country. Although there is still a big gap between the annual per capita income of rural and urban households, people have to admit that the growth rate of household net income has increased since 1990. Eastern China is one of the richest regions, with the annual disposable income of urban family members being just over 52,000 yuan.

In 2021 , the annual per capita disposable income of rural households in China was about 18,931 yuan, about 40% of the income of urban households . Although the living standards in rural areas of China have improved significantly over the past 20 years, the income gap between urban and rural households remains large.

Annual disposable income of urban household members in various regions of China in 2020 ( yuan ) Data source: Statista.com

China's food and personal care markets have also grown rapidly over the past few decades as disposable income has increased. With thousands of grocery retailers opening across the country, sales of fast-moving consumer goods have increased by more than 50% between 2012 and 2021. As of 2020 , about 60% of grocery sales in China are still conducted offline. Despite this, China's e-grocery retail business is expected to see strong growth in the coming years.

The following statistic shows the number of retail chain stores in China, by store type, in 2020. In 2020 , there are approximately 24,082 retail supermarket chain stores in China.

E-commerce sales share of China's urban fast-moving consumer goods retail market from 2014 to 2021 Data source: Statista.com

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the digitalization of grocery shopping in China. In 2021 , the size of China's fresh food e-commerce market reached 564 billion yuan, doubling from 2019. A survey showed that nearly half of Chinese consumers have increased their online shopping usage since the outbreak. Among all online retail channels, horizontal e-commerce sites like Tmall and JD.com have won the most online grocery shoppers in China.

In 2021 , China's fresh food e-commerce market was worth about 564 billion yuan, compared with just 4 billion yuan in 2012. By 2023 , the fresh food e-commerce market is expected to reach about 818 billion yuan.