New Retail in China: a Growth Engine for the Retail Industry - China Briefing NewsChinese e-commerce giant Alibaba opened its first cashier-free retail store, Tao Café, in Hangzhou this July. Customers can enter the store after obtaining a machine-readable QR code entry ticket through their Taobao account, and going through the facial recognition system at the store.Customers can not only dine in the café, but also purchase various products both physically in the store and online by using interactive screens at each table. Customers pay automatically as they exit through the checkout sensor door. There are no queues at the cashier and no need for cash or even mobile payment.Are we witnessing the second retail revolution after e-commerce?This wave of automated retail stores is a part of the “New Retail” transformation of traditional retail. Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, coined the concept New Retail last year, predicting, “pure e-commerce will be reduced to a traditional business and replaced by the concept of New Retail – the integration of online, offline, logistics, and data across a single value chain.”New Retail is about bridging e-commerce, physical retail, and logistics in order to improve the efficiency of selling and buying, as well as improve the shopping experience. China is leading this revolution thanks to its strong consumer base, increasing purchasing power, preference for novel and luxury shopping experiences, and the widespread use of mobile payment.Big Data stands at the core of New Retail. Data on consumers’ preferences, shopping habits, and sales enables efficient delivery to consumers and reduces surplus inventory– two major challenges for retail. The integration of online, offline, and logistics creates an omni-channel shopping experience, expanding the consumer base and increasing profitability.The New Retail model poses an existential question to traditional retail players. With ever more integrated offline and online channels, brick-and-mortar retail stores simply cannot compete with New Retailers that are equipped with cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and possess the capacity to use data analysis for accessing more consumers.The most important thing to keep in mind is understanding what motivates consumers to visit physical stores and buy. Chinese shoppers nowadays are becoming more sophisticated. They are looking not only for low prices, but also at quality, brand, services, and unique or personalized shopping experiences. Customers also demand more targeted and time-efficient shopping trips. Retailers can try to diversify their products and utilize physical and digital assets to meet customers’ changing needs.1.in checkout-free stores,people can take any goods without paying .