China aims to revive physical stores, make them ‘immersive’, as shield against e-commerce

With retail sales growth cooling in May to the slowest pace since December 2022 and persistent weakness in big-ticket items extending through last month, Beijing has stepped in to reinvigorate bricks-and-mortar operators facing intense price competition from e-commerce platforms.The Ministry of Commerce, together with eight other relevant authorities, on Thursday released guidelines to accelerate the innovative development of the retail sector. The document charts out a path for differentiated competition between online and offline retailers, featuring plans to build a more rational pricing system over the next few years.The road map arrives against a backdrop of “trading down”, a trend that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic and has persisted through 2026. The behaviour sees shoppers switch from premium brands to lower-priced alternatives, or simply purchase less, due to economic uncertainty or less disposable income.