Integrating online and offline grocery shopping, Alibaba appears to be leading the way in the new era of supermarket retailing with the launch of another three new supermarkets in Beijing and Shanghai recently, reaching a total of 13 stores in its new retail format. Cleverly blending mobile technology, big-data analytics and a traditional hands-on service approach, Alibaba, trading under the Hema Supermarkets name, is delivering a very compelling offer to the Chinese market:

• Customer membership, which remembers purchase preferences and makes personalised recommendations.
• In-store restaurant: Fresh food, including live seafood, is cooked to order and consumed on the spot.
• Online orders are delivered via the stores, serving local communities with deliveries in 30 minutes.
• Cashless checkout: being quick and easy.
• Zero-waste delivery: delivery boxes are recyclable and reusable.

Watch this space as the competition heats up between Alibaba and Amazon for the top market share prize in the very lucrative grocery sector, and the myriad of new opportunities that this will bring for those of us who are perceptive enough.