China’s flash delivery market is taking off. Young consumers now expect same-day delivery for electronics, fashion, and daily essentials, transforming the retail experience.
In recent years, instant delivery in mainland China has expanded beyond food to include clothing, daily essentials, and electronics. Consumers can now order online and receive goods within 30 minutes. This “flash delivery” trend is growing rapidly.
From Snacks to Smartphones
On 13 August, a resident in Shenzhen urgently needed a power bank for a business trip. He placed an order on a flash delivery app and received it within half an hour. According to a leading platform, mobile phone sales have jumped more than 300% since June, while sports shoes, T-shirts, smartwatches, tablets, and laptops all grew over 200%. A store manager in Shenzhen says orders from March to July nearly quintupled compared with last year.
Sports stores in Shenzhen have also seen a surge in orders for slippers and socks on rainy days. Delivery riders rush back and forth as store staff pick and pack orders within 15 minutes to meet tight delivery times. Flash delivery breaks traditional opening hours, with orders arriving even at night. Since setting up instant delivery last year, some stores have seen significant growth. For example, badminton equipment sales rose 50% in the first seven months of the year.
Young Consumers Drive the Flash Delivery Trend
In Helan County, Ningxia, a local convenience store uses an “online operations + offline supply” model. It receives an average of 170 orders per day and over 5,000 orders per month. The store now operates 24 hours, with delivery riders lining up early each morning to pick up goods.
Data shows that China’s online retail sales reached 7.43 trillion yuan (about £830 billion) in the first half of this year, up 8.5% from last year. Physical goods account for 24.9% of the total. Over the past three years, instant delivery categories such as fresh food, medicine, and flowers have grown by 45% annually, far outpacing food delivery. During this year’s 618 Shopping Festival, China’s mid-year e-commerce event, transactions on Meituan’s flash delivery service doubled for many product categories, while sales of high-end items increased twofold.
An industry expert explains that young consumers now value speed even more than the product itself. The new rule for service e-commerce is “if it can be delivered, it can be bought.” Over 50% of those born after 1995 want same-day delivery, and 7% expect delivery within two hours. Flash delivery is reshaping China’s retail landscape with extreme speed, becoming a major driver of the consumer market.
Written by Chen Wang, additional reporting by HKCNA.
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