The recently held National Retail Innovation and Development Conference has clarified the development direction of the retail industry during the 15th Five Year Plan period: shifting from scale expansion to quality driven and service driven, and accelerating the construction of a modern retail system. Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping proposed at the meeting to learn and promote good experiences and practices of enterprises such as Pangdonglai, and accelerate transformation and improvement. This not only affirms the practical value of exploring paths for regional retail enterprises, but also indicates that one of the important ideas for the future development of the retail industry is to "win the market with quality and reshape competitiveness with service".

Currently, China's retail industry is at a critical juncture of profound transformation. On the one hand, the scale of the consumer market continues to expand. In the first three quarters of this year, the retail sales of convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores, specialty stores, and brand specialty stores in retail units above designated size increased by 6.4%, 4.4%, 0.9%, 4.8%, and 1.5% year-on-year, respectively; On the other hand, consumer demand is becoming increasingly diversified and personalized, and traditional competitive methods such as price wars are gradually becoming ineffective. The industry is facing challenges such as insufficient supply-demand adaptation and imbalanced development between online and offline. In this context, the successful practice of Pang Donglai provides important insights. The company only has 13 stores in Xuchang and Xinxiang, Henan, but through good product quality, humanized service, and employee care, it has achieved a leap in sales from 7 billion yuan to 20 billion yuan in 4 years. Its essence is based on user thinking, shifting the commercial focus from space leasing to scene operation and ecological construction, which is highly in line with the high-quality development requirements of the retail industry.

The transformation of the retail industry faces many challenges. On the one hand, some enterprises are accustomed to traditional extensive models and lack sufficient preparation for supply chain investment and refined operations; On the other hand, regional development is uneven, the infrastructure of sinking markets needs to be improved, and digital capabilities need to be enhanced. In this regard, policies need to strengthen guidance, such as promoting relevant pilot city experiences, supporting enterprise technological transformation, and other measures to reduce transformation costs; Enterprises need to proactively seek change, optimize their supply chain based on local conditions, and improve their service levels. Therefore, to promote the shift of the retail industry towards quality driven, efforts need to be made in three directions.

Enhance the value of goods and services, and stimulate new driving forces for the development of the retail industry. At present, China's retail industry has undergone tremendous changes, with a clear trend of online and offline channel diversification. The channel value of traditional physical retailers is gradually weakening, and the value of goods and services has become more important. For example, Jinan Hualian Supermarket deeply integrates commercial services with residents' daily lives, enhances community cohesion, and improves consumers' sense of happiness at their doorstep.

Deepen supply chain integration and promote innovation and transformation in the retail industry. Enhancing the value of goods and services cannot be achieved without the support of the supply chain. In recent years, new models such as instant retail and smart logistics have developed rapidly, achieving precise product selection and intelligent replenishment through digital means, which not only reduces losses but also improves efficiency. In the future, through digital applications, consumer trend analysis and prediction can also be carried out, providing information support for consumer goods manufacturing, agricultural production, etc., reverse integrating fragmented production resources, and improving economies of scale.

Accelerate the integration of business formats and open up new spaces for the development of the retail industry. The retail industry needs to gradually break away from traditional retail thinking, transform from a single store to a "life scene", and expand the experience space by combining elements such as culture, tourism, and entertainment. For example, the Hangzhou Hubin commercial district relies on the first store economy to drive consumer growth, and through the integration of culture and first stores, showcases the unique commercial charm of Hangzhou as a city.

The quality driven transformation of the retail industry is not only a change in business models, but also a reshaping of development concepts. This requires companies to shift from pursuing short-term traffic to creating long-term value, and from price competition to experience competition. With the continuous emergence of new formats such as debut economy, event economy, and "artificial intelligence+consumption", as well as the accelerated application of digital technology, the retail industry will form a healthier and more dynamic development state under the guidance of quality, and inject sustained momentum into strengthening the domestic circulation.