First, it is the trend of tiered development of retail formats. China is a country with a vast territory, a large population, diverse cities, unbalanced economic development, and widely varying consumption habits. The development of retail formats will show obvious regional characteristics. For example, due to the differences in commercial development between the eastern, central and western regions with different levels of economic development and the various economic zones formed with large cities as the core, such as the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Basin Economic Zone, the development models of commercial formats also have their own characteristics. Category I cities: Beijing and Shanghai, for example, are not only the economic, political and cultural centers of the country, but also international metropolises. Their urban population exceeds 10 million, with a large floating population and diversified consumer demands. Its retail business development model can be divided into the following levels: First, it is necessary to establish a national and even world-famous commercial district, with large department stores, supermarkets, and professional store groups, with customers from all over the country and even the world. The second is to develop regional commercial districts, mainly concentrated near residential areas, with large comprehensive supermarkets as the main body, equipped with a number of professional shops, catering and other service facilities. The radiation radius of such centers is 5 to 10 kilometers, and the population 100,000 to 200,000. The third is to vigorously promote community-based commercial districts, mainly consisting of supermarkets focusing on food and daily necessities (generally with a radius of 2 to 3 kilometers, serving a population of 30,000 to 80,000), grocery stores, catering services and Other store composition. The fourth is to encourage the development of convenience stores, non-staple food stores or some small household retail outlets distributed in residential areas, which are characterized by convenient shopping for residents and long business hours. Category II cities: Provincial capital cities and coastal cities with relatively developed economies and higher consumption levels. The general population is between 2 million and 6 million. Their retail business formats are firstly complete and have central business districts, mainly for local and regional cities. Customer groups, such as the consumer groups in this province, in addition to large department stores, there are various professional stores and specialty stores in the business district as well as supporting cultural, catering, entertainment and other facilities. Other levels are similar to those in first-class cities. The two structures are equivalent. Category 3 cities: Mainly refers to medium-sized cities. Restricted by their economic development, their commercial radiation capabilities are weaker than those of the first two categories of cities. Commercial formats mainly cater to local consumers. In addition to establishing several large-scale commercial facilities, they mainly focus on Mainly medium and small outlets. In this type of city, the "fragmentation" of business should be higher than that of the first two types of cities. The fourth category of cities: mainly refers to small towns and county-level cities or some larger towns, with a population ranging from tens of thousands to 100,000, and the consumption level is mostly lower than that of the first three categories of cities. In such cities, some large and medium-sized commercial facilities are currently built, but the results are not good. Various small commercial outlets such as daily supermarkets and convenience stores that meet the needs of local residents and have full functions should be developed. China has a population of 1.2 billion, of which 900 million are in rural areas, accounting for 72% of the country's total population. Since 1995, farmers' income growth has exceeded that of urban residents for three consecutive years. In 1998, the state's increased investment in infrastructure construction will further increase farmers' income to a large extent. , but currently rural sales only account for about 40% of social commodity retail sales. In contrast, there is still a lot of room for development in the rural market. In addition, the urban and rural markets are highly complementary and complementary. The development of the rural market can promote a virtuous cycle of urban and rural economies and further expand the potential for market development. Therefore, While the retail industry continues to develop the urban market, it must attach great importance to the rural market and cultivate and develop this new growth point. Due to the unbalanced nature of my country's economic development, in many economically underdeveloped areas, the development of retail formats is still relatively backward. With the continuous progress of social economy, the retail formats in these backward areas will gradually follow the path that the retail formats in developed areas have taken. The direction of business development should be: department stores, supermarkets, specialty stores, chain convenience stores, warehouse stores, shopping malls... In addition to forming a step-by-step development trend in terms of geographical distribution, retail formats will also develop in time series. There is a tiered development. Since the life cycle of modern retail formats is only 5 to 10 years, it can be expected that various retail formats will develop in large, medium and small cities, coastal, inland and western regions, developed, underdeveloped and There will be a lag period of 5 to 10 years in poverty-stricken areas. In big cities, certain business types are in decline, while in small and medium-sized cities, they may still be in a period of innovation and development. Therefore, understanding and grasping this trend can enable us to avoid detours and avoid unnecessary economic losses. Second, it is the trend of diversification of retail formats. In the past, our country was dominated by "one kind of department store that dominates the world", that is, no matter how big the store area is, no matter what geographical location it is in, it is a department store, and it mainly operates traditional over-the-counter transactions. Nowadays, retail formats are showing a trend of diversification. Department stores in the original sense are gradually "retired" and new types of department stores are beginning to appear. Supermarkets, boutiques, specialty stores, convenience stores and other retail formats have developed rapidly. , the types of retail formats are gradually enriching. With the further development of my country's market economy and the emergence and popularization of new science and technology, new retail formats will emerge. Moreover, due to the large span of my country's economic development, the diversification of retail formats The trend will continue to exist for a long time. Third, it is the trend of balancing of retail formats. In the past, department stores dominated my country’s retail market, and other retail formats simply could not compete with them. Now, the status of department stores has begun to change. Its proportion in total social retail consumption is gradually decreasing, while the proportion of other retail formats is gradually increasing, and its status is gradually rising.

With the development of the economy, the "superpower" in retail formats will no longer exist in the future, purchasing power will be diverged, various retail formats will have their own relatively stable consumer groups, and there will be a relative balance between them. Fourth, is the trend of combination of retail formats. In the past, retail stores in our country always "worked alone". Except for a few urban commercial centers, they were rarely able to form a "collective business district" (that is, the business districts of multiple retail stores overlapped each other to give full play to the group's advantages). Nowadays, there is a trend of mutual combination and simultaneous development of various retail formats, because different retail formats are complementary to a certain extent, and the combination between them can meet the needs of consumers at multiple levels and play a " The effectiveness of the "collection of business districts" increases the interests of each, thereby achieving the goal of "1 plus 1 is greater than 2". Fifth, it is the trend of integration of retail formats. That is to say, from the perspective of the enterprise, the enterprise no longer focuses on one retail format, but concentrates multiple retail formats into one enterprise according to its own development and the needs of the real social environment. The trend of retail format integration has two forms: one is connotative integration; the other is extensional integration. Connotative integration means that when a retail store area is large enough, it concentrates multiple retail formats in one store so that they can integrate and promote each other and increase corporate benefits. For example, opening supermarkets in large shopping malls is no longer a new thing, and boutiques and specialty stores have also entered large shopping malls. Extensive integration refers to the company's external capital expansion and the opening of new stores that are different from its own business formats in other places, thereby diversifying corporate risks and promoting corporate development. Extensive integration can take many forms, that is, companies can invest by themselves or form joint ventures with other companies. Extensive integration is conducive to the rationalization of the capital structure of the entire industry, thereby improving the capital operation efficiency of the entire industry and promoting social and economic development. The above are the five trends in the development of retail formats in our country. Clearly grasping the concept of retail formats and recognizing their development trends have very practical significance for promoting my country's economic development and effectively improving people's material and cultural living standards. Of course, as far as the current overall environment is concerned, the development of the retail industry requires the standardization of circulation order. Competition is the basic way to realize inter-regional commodity flow, and it is a requirement put forward by the practice of inter-regional commodity circulation in my country. Inter-regional market blockade is a practical problem encountered in my country's economic reform and development. Similarly, the retail industry, especially chain stores, will also be affected when it develops across regions.