Behind Meituan's first battle report for flash sales, the liquor industry "has felt the power of 618 for the first time"?

Who would have thought that this traditional off-season for liquor consumption would become exceptionally lively due to Meituan's flash sales?

In the early hours of May 28, Meituan's flash sales officially kicked off the 618 promotion. In terms of liquor categories, within 12 hours of the promotion starting, the overall transaction volume of liquor exceeded 300 million yuan, achieving over 200 times growth compared to last year, with over 230,000 people reserving the 1499 Flying Moutai within half a day. The transaction volumes of famous liquors such as Moutai, Wuliangye, and Jian Nan Chun all exceeded 10 million yuan.

In the era of sales, instant retail of liquor is becoming an important direction for channel evolution due to the certainty of incremental growth it brings. The explosion of liquor sales during Meituan's flash sales in the 618 period not only reflects the changes in liquor consumption habits and demands but also further demonstrates the importance of instant retail to the industry.

01 Liquor category welcomes peak transactions, liquor distributors exclaim "for the first time feeling the power of 618"

The 618 e-commerce promotion, which holds significant meaning in the retail industry, has always been somewhat disappointing in the liquor industry.

On one hand, the liquor industry is relatively traditional, with online channels accounting for a low proportion of the liquor retail market, and liquor companies and distributors have limited investment in online channels; on the other hand, 618 falls within the traditional off-season for liquor consumption, and compared to Double 11 and the New Year goods festival, channels have less interest in the 618 promotion.

This year, the situation has changed. During this year's 618, Meituan directly targeted the traditional retail shortcomings of liquor with its flash sales business, achieving over 300 million yuan in transaction volume and over 200 times growth within the first 12 hours of the promotion, thanks to its strong pricing power and minute-level delivery efficiency.

"For the first time, liquor has felt the power of 618; it was non-stop from morning till night, busy all day! The volume brought by Meituan's flash sales during 618 is huge, even more than any holiday this year, including the Spring Festival; Wuliangye and Jian Nan Chun have completely sold out," stated a leading liquor distributor on social media.

The explosive sales of liquor during 618 seem to be proving to the industry that instant retail, represented by Meituan's flash sales, is becoming the most suitable channel for selling liquor.

From a macro perspective, according to the "2023 Instant Retail Liquor White Paper," the penetration rate of liquor in instant retail is rapidly rising, expected to reach 6% by 2027, with the market size surpassing 100 billion yuan.

From a meso perspective, high-priced and high-repeat liquor, as one of the representative categories of Meituan's flash sales, is receiving increasing support from algorithms and traffic. Meituan's flash sales are leveraging liquor as a sharp product to carve out a larger piece of the channel pie.

From a micro perspective, during this year's 618, liquor sales terminals have already welcomed explosive growth: Jiu Jia Jiu chain's instant retail sales exceeded 11 million yuan on the first day, and Qianxi Mingjiu's instant retail orders increased by approximately 86 times compared to daily average orders "This year's 618, the explosive sales of liquor on Meituan Flash Purchase seem accidental, but in fact, it is a necessity." Zhang Li, an expert in all-channel brand research for liquor, believes that on one hand, today's consumers are becoming increasingly "picky," tired of the traditional e-commerce 618 approach, unwilling to endure long shipping times for lower prices, and seeking the dual satisfaction of affordable prices and immediate delivery; on the other hand, the consumption demand for liquor has shifted from the traditional e-commerce 618's "planned stockpiling" to "instant tipsiness," where today's young people desire the small happiness of immediate feedback. Meituan Flash Purchase clearly better meets the drinking needs of consumers under the new trend.

02 "Make speed a part of the product experience"

The product experience of liquor is advancing from the taste experience while drinking and the physical experience after drinking to a further stage.

"Instant retail makes speed a part of the liquor product experience." Wang Qun, head of a well-known liquor chain, pointed out that consumers in dining scenarios cannot wait more than half an hour; some consumers will even give up consumption if delivery takes more than 20 minutes. "Through the minute-level delivery speed of Meituan Flash Purchase, consumers' demand for 'drinking now' is fully satisfied."

He further stated that service power centered on speed is becoming a key focus in the evolution of liquor channels. "In the past, selling liquor relied on stockpiling, pressing goods, and smashing terminals; now, selling liquor emphasizes 'delivery within 30 minutes,' and the logic of channel distribution and selling liquor has completely changed."

For a long time, the liquor industry channels have mainly relied on the agency distribution model, which is "centralized retail," where city-level agents revolve around provincial agents' warehouses, and county-level agents revolve around city-level agents' warehouses. "Centralized retail" has led to high circulation costs and limited terminal response speed; traditional e-commerce, on the other hand, has compressed the offline distribution, wholesale, and retail chains through efficiency revolutions, transforming online cost advantages into price advantages, expanding brand online increments to encroach on retail terminal shares like liquor stores, and forming a "next-day delivery" speed advantage in the process.

However, with the continuous advancement of consumer internet technology and the ongoing refinement of liquor consumer demands, the "spatial barriers" of traditional liquor retail are gradually collapsing, and the development logic of liquor channels has been quietly rewritten. Instant retail represented by Meituan Flash Purchase provides a more fitting answer to the demands of the times.

"In fact, liquor instant retail is using the internet as a tool to empower the digitalization of local retail, achieving 'distributed supply' of goods, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of selling liquor and shortening service time to an extreme of 15-20 minutes." Wang Qun stated that compared to traditional e-commerce, channels are clearly more welcoming to the instant retail model because the increments brought by instant retail are based on strong timeliness "demand that will disappear if not satisfied immediately," which is an opportunity that traditional channels must seize.

In addition, the product supply during non-regular hours (from 10 PM to 8 AM the next day) is also one of the incremental sources for liquor instant retail. "The operating hours of offline supermarkets are generally from 8 AM to 10 PM, while consumers have a large demand for liquor during nighttime gatherings. The new supply model of Meituan Lightning Warehouse integrates instant delivery services and 24-hour convenience store resources to provide consumers with around-the-clock product supply Meituan Flash Purchase stated that the demand for alcoholic beverages during the night has also brought considerable consumption growth.

Note: This article has been edited.

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