China seeks to revive physical retail amid online shopping spree

As people across the country are glued to their smart devices or computer screens in the hope of snapping up a bargain or two in China's annual online shopping event, Singles' Day, central authorities are extending a helping hand to the nation's struggling high streets.

In a guideline released Friday, the State Council advised physical stores that should they want to survive in the current retail environment they must restructure, innovate and integrate their businesses.

Physical retail need to understand their customer's lifestyles and habits and use that information to guide their selection of products, the guideline said.

Quality and efficiency are of utmost importance, the guideline underscored, and the future of the retail industry was the integration of online and offline entities.

The guideline also promised policy support, including lower taxes, to ensure a fairer environment.

In recent years, China's physical stores have been overshadowed by the rise of online market places such as Alibaba and JD.com. The situation has been exacerbated by soaring rents and rising wages.

China's online retail sales increased 26.1 percent year on year to nearly 3.5 trillion yuan (514 billion U.S. dollars) from January to September, outshining the 10.4-percent overall retail growth.

On Friday, Singles' Day sales had beaten last year's record of 91.2 billion yuan by 3:19 p.m., just over half way through the day-long event. Endit