Bianniu Shi report

On September 10, Apple and Huawei launched their new devices on the same day, marking a direct confrontation between the two "tech spring festivals."

Apple's fall product launch event introduced the iPhone 16 series, including the iPhone 16 series, Apple Watch Series 10 smartwatch, AirPods 4 earbuds, the redesigned Apple Watch Ultra 2, and AirPods Max in new colors. Pre-orders opened at 8 PM on September 13.

On the same day, Huawei unveiled its highly anticipated three-fold Huawei Mate XT at its brand ceremony.

Ten days later, the Apple iPhone 16 series officially went on sale at Apple stores nationwide, and the Huawei Mate XT, which had earlier opened reservations starting at 19,999 yuan, also went on sale.

Huawei and Apple, the two major mobile phone giants, once again faced off directly, with unprecedented heat and a frenzy of pre-orders.

In addition to traditional e-commerce platforms like JD.com, Tmall, and Pinduoduo, which participated in the pre-sales of both companies' new products this year, there were also instant retail platforms such as Meituan and Ele.me. Apple has been working with Meituan Flash since 2020, and their cooperation is reported to have further escalated this year. Notably, Kuaishou also joined the iPhone launch competition this year with its "hour-delivery service."

On September 20, the iPhone 16 series officially went on sale with stock available. "Speed" remained the defining characteristic of "buying phones via food delivery." Media reports indicated that the fastest sale occurred in Erdos by 10 AM on September 20, where a consumer received their iPhone 16 Pro Max from a delivery person just 10 minutes after the phones went on sale.

On the same day, Huawei Mate XT sold out instantly on Huawei's official store, with all models being snapped up. Last September, Huawei also announced its cooperation with Meituan Flash. Over the past year, the number of Huawei authorized experience stores on Meituan Flash has increased more than fourfold, and the number of covered cities has more than quintupled.

Currently, the rivalry between Apple and Huawei, the two major mobile phone giants, has spilled over into the instant retail platform. As "buying phones via food delivery" becomes a mainstream consumption trend, leading mobile phone and digital product manufacturers like Apple and Huawei are scrambling to lay out their strategies, bringing the battle to the new front of instant retail.

The era of deep integration between consumer electronics and instant retail has quietly arrived and is gradually becoming an essential sales channel for mobile phone manufacturers.

"Buying phones via food delivery" becomes normalized

On September 20, both Apple and Huawei launched their new devices on the same day. As usual, long queues formed outside their offline flagship stores, and intense competition also ensued on online e-commerce platforms.

A notable trend is that buying phones is now as easy as ordering food delivery. Purchasing phones through food delivery platforms is becoming a new trend, and more and more consumers are developing the habit of buying electronic products via food delivery.

Clearly, compared to traditional e-commerce, instant retail's "everything delivered to your doorstep in 30 minutes" model better meets consumers' needs for fast delivery of new products. It offers quick delivery, comprehensive after-sales rights and benefits, and even exclusive deals not easily found offline.

"This is the most expensive food delivery I've ever ordered," said Lei Lei, who lives in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. She waited eagerly on Meituan's food delivery platform on the morning of September 20 and placed an order as soon as the phones went on sale. Within 30 minutes, her iPhone 16 Pro Max was delivered to her doorstep. "I missed the first pre-sale, and I almost thought I'd have to wait for the official launch. I didn't expect to find it on the food delivery platform, and it even came with 12-month interest-free financing. It's an absolute steal!"

Many users have also shared their experiences of buying phones via food delivery on social media platforms like Xiaohongshu.

Xu Lu, who works at an Apple Authorized Reseller in Beijing, also noted that consumers have increasingly preferred buying phones via food delivery since the pandemic. Orders for "phone delivery" have been on a steady rise in recent years. Currently, her store's offline sales still slightly outpace online sales, but the difference is negligible. "People know that food delivery orders come from nearby stores, so they're less concerned about counterfeit products or loss during transit," she said.

Xu Lu has witnessed a consecutive increase in the share of instant retail channels in her store for two years. Both stores she managed in recent years participated in Meituan Flash's pre-sales of new Apple devices.

In fact, the trend of buying phones via food delivery began as early as 2020, when the novel form of purchasing iPhone 14 gained widespread popularity among consumers. Nowadays, with the continuous upgrade of after-sales guarantees and benefit services, this method of purchasing phones is no longer novel but has gradually become mainstream.

"I had placed an order for the iPhone 16 Pro in Desert Gold on an e-commerce platform, but it turned out that delivery would only be available on the 23rd. By chance, I found it available for immediate purchase on a food delivery platform, and I Decisive ordering . An hour later, it was already in my hands. What a steal! They even gave me a 16-month premium membership as a gift," wrote a user on Xiaohongshu.

Instant retail penetrates lower-tier markets

In the past, buying 3C digital products through food delivery platforms was usually for emergency needs, but now this purchasing habit has gradually become normalized. With continuous market penetration, food delivery for phone purchases has gradually extended to third- and fourth-tier cities.

According to Lao Yang, the manager of an Apple Authorized Reseller in Xishuangbanna, over 60% of the store's online sales currently come from instant retail, and sales on Meituan have doubled year-on-year. This Apple Authorized Reseller has been in operation for nearly a decade and began experimenting with instant retail in 2020, officially joining Meituan Flash in 2021.

As a popular tourist city, Xishuangbanna attracts many visitors. "Local tourists and local customers account for about a 6:4 ratio, with most being new online customers and young people. Whether for emergency needs or daily use, people are increasingly accustomed to buying phones through food delivery platforms," said Lao Yang.

Different groups of people have different motivations for buying phones via food delivery platforms. Lao Yang gave examples, such as tourists who accidentally wet their phones during the Water Splashing Festival choosing food delivery for emergency purposes, or visitors from first-tier cities who discover discounts on Apple products in local stores and decide to order via food delivery after inspecting the models in-store while taking advantage of online coupons.

As instant retail becomes more prevalent, its coverage is also expanding. Since last year, lower-tier cities below the third tier have shown strong purchasing power. Now, even counties can buy the latest iPhone 16 via food delivery platforms.

In Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, some locals have also started buying products through instant retail. Yang Tao mentioned that for locals, the main attraction of online ordering lies in customized discounts offered by the platforms.

Xu Lu also confirmed this point, observing that online channels are more attractive due to their numerous offers. She explained that platform discounts significantly boost online orders for stores. "At its peak, our store received 70-80 food delivery orders a day. These online discounts also boost offline store sales, as consumers who come to buy phones often end up purchasing other digital products as well," Xu Lu said.

However, for local residents in third- and fourth-tier cities, there are still some concerns about buying phones via food delivery. "Although Apple offers nationwide warranty for online purchases, they still prefer to visit physical stores for services like trade-ins, file transfers, and screen protector installations," said Lao Yang.

Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the pursuit of more immediate and certain lifestyles has become an irreversible new consumption trend, and the habit of instant consumption has already been formed.

"Trillion-yuan market" becomes a new engine driving growth in the consumer electronics industry

Research report data proves that instant retail has effectively driven growth in the consumer electronics industry.

"Instant Retail Consumer Electronics Industry White Paper" shows that instant retail has become an important channel for mobile phone brands to launch new products and expand their market scale. Over the past three years, the consumer electronics category has experienced rapid growth in the instant retail market. From 2021 to 2026, the compound annual growth rate is expected to reach 68.5%, and the scale of the instant retail consumer electronics industry will exceed 100 billion yuan in 2026.

In recent years, leading mobile phone manufacturers have successively cooperated with instant retail platforms such as Meituan Flash, Ele.me, JD.com, Douyin, and Kuaishou for "hour-delivery" services.

The report shows that users of new mobile phones in instant retail are more likely to be fans of mid-to-high-end models, with the top three preferred brands being Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi.

Among these three, Apple was the first to join instant retail, followed by Huawei and Xiaomi.

As early as 2020, Apple Authorized Resellers joined Meituan Flash, enabling users within the delivery range of stores in Beijing and Shanghai to enjoy delivery within half an hour. It is understood that the number of Apple Authorized Stores cooperating with Meituan Flash has increased from 4,700 in 2023 to 7,000 this year, covering from first-tier cities to township markets. At the same time, Meituan Flash also supported the first batch of pre-sales of Apple's new products for the second consecutive year.

This year's iPhone 16 launch was also the first time that Ele.me supported pre-sales of new products. On the morning of September 10, Ele.me announced that it would work with nearly 4,000 Apple Authorized Resellers to support the pre-sales and simultaneous launch of iPhone 16.

Xiaomi has also been cooperating with Meituan Flash for two years. As early as 2021, Xiaomi, which started online and has been working hard to build offline channels, introduced the "store pickup" function. When some netizens suggested partnering with Meituan's food delivery service, Xiaomi's President Lu Weibing replied, "Okay." A year later, Xiaomi partnered with Meituan Flash, and Lu Weibing excitedly announced, "Let Xiaomi fans buy Xiaomi products just like ordering food delivery."

Last year, Huawei also announced its cooperation with Meituan Flash. In September 2023, over 1,000 Huawei Authorized Experience Stores in the first batch of 62 cities nationwide joined Meituan Flash. Currently, over 4,300 Huawei Authorized Experience Stores and Huawei Smart Living Malls in 343 cities have joined Meituan Flash, providing consumers with "local store delivery, fastest 30-minute delivery" services.

In addition to the above three companies, leading brands such as VIVO, Honor, and Samsung have also embraced instant retail. An increasing number of digital 3C stores are positioning instant retail as their main sales channel.

Survey data shows that the annual mobile phone replacement frequency in instant retail channels is as high as 8%, twice that of non-instant retail channels. Beyond mobile phones, the demand for computer and digital products is equally strong, with over 70% of users expressing a willingness to repurchase through instant retail channels.

Demand drives market change. Consumers of instant retail tend to be younger, with mobile phone instant consumption dominated by Gen Z. This generation is passionate about trying out trendy technology and pursuing quality consumption. More importantly, Gen Z consumers exhibit a "contagious" spending pattern, purchasing everything from accessories, mobile phones, computers, and other digital products to home appliances. Once they develop sufficient trust in the instant retail shopping experience, they will be motivated to make purchases across all categories.

Buying electronic products through food delivery platforms is gradually becoming normalized. Surveys show that 54% of consumers who choose instant retail channels do so because they "don't have to go out," while 40% cite "inclement weather" as their reason. Other major motivations include staying at home for leisure, gift-giving during gatherings, 24/7 availability, business trips, and relaxation.

Following the increasingly fast pace of social development, the necessity of instant retail has become apparent, addressing emergencies, purchasing daily necessities while traveling, and gift-giving during social gatherings.

It is foreseeable that instant retail, as a new form of consumption, will gradually expand to cover all scenarios and penetrate every aspect of daily life, meeting the needs of various living situations.

The promising outlook for this trillion-yuan instant retail market is evident, and it has now become a new battleground for mobile phone and digital product brands.

Merchants compete to embrace the era of "instant retail"

The mobile phone industry is embracing instant retail, with instant retail relying on local stores and delivery networks becoming a new growth point for merchants.

For merchants, the significance of instant retail lies not only in expanding sales but also in broadening their operational radius and enhancing the overall consumer experience.

In their cooperation with platforms, merchants gain access to new supply models like front-end warehouses, live streaming marketing models tied to the platform, and membership benefits provided by the platform. These not only offer better and faster guarantees to users but also provide more consumer rights and benefits.

As instant retail channels become standard, platforms have also undergone efficiency upgrades, with continuously enhanced features. With the mutual efforts of merchants and channels, new growth opportunities are constantly emerging.

At the launch of the iPhone 16 this year, in addition to regular interest-free installments, instant retail platforms allocated more resources to assist brand owners and retailers in sales. Meituan Flash offered a 16-month premium membership to consumers who purchased the iPhone 16 series and Huawei Pura 70 series. This is the first time that such exclusive consumer benefits unique to the platform have been matched with new phone sales scenarios, demonstrating the importance and support that instant retail platforms place on consumer electronics brands and retailers.

Beyond new phone launches, promotional sales periods are also typical instant retail consumption scenarios. Merchants can effectively expand their channels and traffic resources through instant retail channels, leading to new growth opportunities. According to estimates, instant scenarios such as promotional sales, new product launches, and gift-giving consumption can bring potential growth spaces of 17%, 20%, and 16%, respectively.

Instant retail has become a vital channel for the consumer electronics industry. For merchants in this industry, grasping new trends means seizing opportunities for a new round of growth.