Recently, several e-commerce giants have intensified their forays into offline hard discount supermarkets, identifying them as fresh avenues for market expansion. JD.com has established five discount supermarkets in locations such as Suqian, Jiangsu Province, and Zhuozhou, Hebei Province. Meanwhile, Meituan has introduced its self-operated hard discount brand, "Happy Monkey," with its inaugural store now operational in Hangzhou. Alibaba's Hema, on the other hand, has renamed its hard discount brand from Hema NB to "Superboxuan NB," reinforcing its cost-efficiency strategy. By streamlining supply chains and minimizing intermediaries, hard discount supermarkets offer competitive pricing, appealing to price-conscious consumers and emerging as a vital strategy for e-commerce platforms to attract incremental user base.
