Multinationals race into China’s US$143.9 billion instant retail market

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Zhu WenqianFebruary 1, 2026 at 04:00 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Multinational corporations, including Ikea, Continental, Sam's Club, and Aldi Nord, are expanding their instant delivery services in China to compete in its $143.9 billion instant retail market. These companies are either launching new services specifically for China or upgrading existing ones to meet the high demand for immediate delivery. China's advanced digital infrastructure and high internet penetration make it a lucrative market for instant retail. By partnering with local platforms like JD.com, foreign brands aim to improve customer experience and boost sales, overcoming potential limitations in local market understanding. Ikea, for example, launched instant delivery on JD.com in January, offering one-hour delivery for small home goods in nine major cities.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Nanjing 40% Guangdong 40% Beijing 40% Jiangsu 40% Su Merchants Bank 50% JD.com ×260% Fu Yifu ×260% Sam's Club 70% Aldi Nord 70% Continental 70% Ikea ×280% China ×590%

Keywords

instant retail 100% instant delivery 90% china 80% multinationals 70% e-commerce platform 60% digital infrastructure 50% sales growth 40% customer experience 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.40

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

China

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

instant retail instant delivery china multinationals e-commerce platform digital infrastructure sales growth customer experience

Explore Full Topic Graph