--- title: "Instant retail has sounded the horn for the arrival of industrial internet." type: "Topics" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/33279440.md" description: "One day in the future, when we look back at this year's internet industry, instant retail will undoubtedly be an undeniable presence. In fact, the reason instant retail has become so popular is not just because different players have joined the fray and engaged in fierce competition, but more so because instant retail is not merely a traditional business model—it is more like the evolution and iteration of an entirely new business model. If we were to define instant retail, we could very well consider it the trailblazer of industrial internet. One of the key reasons for this definition is..." datetime: "2025-08-24T00:41:19.000Z" locales: - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/33279440.md) - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/33279440.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/33279440.md) author: "[产业深观](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/11766346.md)" --- # Instant retail has sounded the horn for the arrival of industrial internet. On a future day, when we look back at this year's internet industry, instant retail will definitely be an existence that cannot be ignored. In fact, the reason why instant retail is booming is not just because different players have joined in and are fighting closely, but more because instant retail is not just a traditional business model, but more like an evolution and iteration of a new business model. If we define instant retail, we can completely define it as the pioneering cannon of the industrial internet. The reason for defining instant retail in this way is that instant retail is not just about burning money and subsidies in the traditional sense, but more about competing with new models, new technologies, and new tactics. If we summarize and define these new models, new technologies, and new tactics, they are all true portrayals of the industrial internet. It is foreseeable that with the advancement of instant retail, especially with the addition of many related industries and scenarios, the appearance of the industrial internet will become more and more apparent, and it will truly bring people into a new era of the industrial internet. Therefore, when we look at instant retail, we need to view it from the perspective of the industrial internet, rather than from the perspective of the consumer internet. When we view it from the perspective of the industrial internet, we will find that the so-called instant retail is not only not returning to the consumer internet era, but also starting to bring the development of the industry into a new stage of the industrial internet. So, what is the connection between instant retail and the industrial internet, and what kind of enlightenment will it bring to the industrial internet? **Instant retail transforms the B-end industry** When we analyze the difference between the consumer internet and the industrial internet, we often distinguish them by their different transformation objects. In many cases, the consumer internet targets C-end users for transformation, while the industrial internet targets B-end users. When C-end users become the transformation objects of the consumer internet, we see different players transforming the consumption habits and behavior habits of C-end users. Specifically, the biggest transformation of C-end users in the consumer internet era is the shift of their consumption habits and behavior habits from offline to online. When the industrial internet era arrives, B-end industries begin to become its transformation objects. Unlike the consumer internet era, which transforms the consumption and behavior habits of C-end users, the industrial internet more transforms the internal elements, production methods, and business models of B-end industries. If we summarize and define the deep transformation of B-end industries by the industrial internet, it is actually a supply-side reform. For instant retail, the reason why it sounds the horn of the arrival of the industrial internet is that it does not target C-end users for transformation, but B-end industries. In this process, we see the application of AI technology on the supply side, the derivation of decentralized business models on the platform economy, and the deep changes in the production and supply methods of B-end industries. When we view instant retail from this perspective, we will find that the so-called instant retail is not just a continuation of the consumer internet, but is annotated by the transformation of B-end industries. Imagine, when B-end industries change, what kind of era does it truly create? In fact, this answer is not difficult to answer. What it creates is the arrival of the industrial internet era, represented by the transformation and upgrading of B-end industries. It is precisely because of this that we regard instant retail as the prelude to the industrial internet. **Instant retail achieves virtual-real integration** We all know that in the consumer internet era, the rise of the virtual economy represented by the platform economy emerged. Many internet platforms were almost born and developed in such an era. When information is asymmetric, the virtual economy can connect the supply and demand ends through disintermediation, improving efficiency. However, in essence, the consumer internet era did not truly achieve the coordinated development and deep integration of the virtual economy and the real economy. This development model ultimately led to a dilemma represented by the rise of the virtual economy and the decline of the real economy. To solve the situation of separation and even opposition between the virtual economy and the real economy, and to avoid the development of the virtual economy and the real economy being unevenly hot and cold, strong and weak, it is necessary to break the original development model and achieve deep integration of the virtual economy and the real economy. It is in this context that we see the derivation and emergence of the concept of the industrial internet. Looking back at the appearance of the industrial internet, we find more that more giant players are empowering, transforming, and upgrading the real economy. However, from another perspective, isn't this transformation and upgrading a kind of virtual-real integration? When instant retail begins to derive and emerge, especially when it begins to appear in front of people in a new posture, we can very clearly see that the most essential and purest part of instant retail is that it achieves the deep integration of the virtual economy and the real economy. In the context of instant retail, virtual economic entities do what they are good at, real economic entities do what they are good at, and they can get support from virtual economic entities in terms of data, technology, supply chain, and other aspects. Therefore, if we summarize and define the operating logic of instant retail, it is not difficult to see that what it truly wants to achieve is the deep integration of the virtual economy and the real economy, and after such deep integration, a new industrial form is derived. This new industrial form has both the characteristics of the virtual economy and the advantages of the real economy, and this is precisely what the industrial internet truly wants to achieve. When instant retail is popular, it is actually the time when the industrial internet is rapidly evolving and rapidly landing. **Instant retail brings a new supply-demand connection** What is the true meaning of the industrial internet? The author believes that the true meaning of the industrial internet is actually to achieve a new connection between the supply side and the demand side, or to achieve a new connection between supply and demand. Why do you say that? The reason is that, whether for virtual economic entities or real economic entities, in the second half of the consumer internet, especially with the disappearance of traffic dividends and other dividends, the connection between supply and demand began to encounter more and more situations where they could not connect. When instant retail begins to appear, we see that it meets people's new instant needs in a new way of supply. This is actually an innovation in business models. Instant retail breaks the cycle problem of previous online retail and solves the traffic problem of previous offline retail, ultimately achieving a new connection between supply and demand. From this perspective, instant retail achieves the goals that the industrial internet wants to achieve and accomplish, so it can be regarded as the pioneering cannon of the industrial internet. However, although instant retail achieves a new connection between supply and demand in this way, this new connection is still established on a relatively superficial level. To achieve a deeper connection, especially to make this new connection more solid and sustainable, instant retail needs to complete a deep transformation of itself and the supply side it links to. However, we have already seen players begin to achieve supply-side upgrades through AI technology empowerment, platform specification upgrades, and other methods to build a more long-term and sustainable balance. When instant retail achieves a new supply-demand connection, especially when it begins to become the main battlefield for new players, we have reason to believe that the future of instant retail will definitely not be like it is today. Today's instant retail is just an overture. With the advancement of instant retail, we will see more ways and methods emerge. When instant retail tears open the gap for supply-side transformation, especially when it can bring more new changes to the supply side, we will truly see the arrival of the industrial internet era. It is precisely because of this that we say that instant retail sounds the horn of the arrival of the industrial internet era. **Conclusion** When instant retail becomes popular, we hear more about the horn of the imminent arrival of the industrial internet. For instant retail, it is not the consumer internet model we have seen before, but more presents us with the industrial internet model. Today's instant retail is just a beginning. In the future, with continuous advancement, we will see more new phenomena occur, and this is precisely what the industrial internet wants to show us.