China isn't "e-commerce first". It’s Omnichannel-First.

Reading the post below (see link at bottom) about IKEA restructuring, I get the intent behind “China is an eCommerce-first market,” but I’d phrase it differently: China is an omnichannel-first market at massive scale.

A quick reality check from official stats: online retail sales of physical goods were ~26% of China’s total retail sales in 2025, meaning ~74% is still offline.
So yes, China is the world’s largest ecommerce arena, but physical retail remains the majority channel.

On IKEA specifically, the headline is “7 store closures,” but the substance is reallocation: IKEA said it will close seven large-format stores effective Feb 2, 2026, while shifting from scale expansion to “PRECISE CULTIVATION” prioritizing smaller formats and continuing to build digital flagships (incl. JD.com).

Note: After these closures, IKEA will still have 34 physical stores remaining in China.

So the strategic lesson isn’t “offline is dead.” It’s closer to:

- Right format, right catchment, right economics (suburban big-box ≠ today’s convenience expectations)
- Smaller urban touchpoints + delivery + digital discovery as a new default for home furnishing
- Offline done right still differentiates (inspiration, planning, trust) while online wins on speed and access

Takeaway: in China, winning looks like omnichannel execution + local format strategy, not a binary “stores vs ecommerce” bet.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7422640812078833664/

#ChinaRetail #Omnichannel #RetailStrategy #EcommerceTrends #IKEAChina