The retreat of the Internet wave has not really taken people’s thinking out of the cage of the Internet. On the contrary, more and more people are still looking at things in the post-Internet era through the eyes of the Internet.Although such an approach can achieve certain results to a certain extent, if they only use the Internet thinking to figure out all this, then even if they can achieve development in a short time, but when such dividends clear, everything will start all over again.There are still a lot of people who fall into this dilemma when it comes to digital retail.We see so many digital retail players, almost all use the Internet thinking and vision to view digital retail, eventually the development of digital retail into the development of the Internet dilemma.As a result, the so-called digital retail is no longer digital retail, but just a synonym for the Internet.

It can be expected that such a mindset can not bring a positive impact on the development of digital retail. In the long run, it will even affect the healthy development of digital retail and even bring the development of digital retail to a dead end.When the development of digital retail enters the deep water zone, especially when the development of digital retail begins to really return to the essence, it is no longer just using the Internet thinking to figure out digital retail, and find a truly suitable for the development of digital retail, perhaps is the key to ensure that the development of digital retail can enter a new stage of development.

Digital retail, which is a process of returning to retail, is a prominent manifestation of using Internet thinking to figure out digital retail, which is simply to see digital retail as an independent existence from retail.Now, digital retail exists, as we have seen in the past e-commerce, independent of the retail industry, but does not participate in the retail industry.In a sense, digital retail players simply exist outside of retail, they don’t actually do it, they just see it as a target.This is typical Internet thinking and Internet practice.One of the most immediate results of this approach is that we are seeing the emergence of platform after platform and hub after hub, so that what is called digital retail is not a new type of retail, but simply an existence that sees the retail industry as a target for harvesting.This is almost always the case with traditional e-commerce players who have jumped into the digital retail bandwagon, and with enablers who see retail objects as targets.In the long run, they can only build two forces in the retail field, one is dominated by the virtual and the other is dominated by the entity. Such two forces eventually lead to the division and ineffective competition in the retail industry.

This is typical traffic thinking.They only see retail as a source of traffic, they only define themselves as something outside the retail industry.Predictably, such an approach would not be sustainable in any case.In order to achieve the true sense of digital retail, I think the most important point is to return to the retail itself, truly define itself as a member of the retail industry, take the initiative to participate in the actual operation process of the retail industry, and finally regard digital retail as a new type of retail, so as to open a new channel of retail development.At this point, digital retail is not just a concept similar to e-commerce, but really becomes a new form of retail.At this point, the retail industry no longer split and opposition, but began to symbiosis, coexistence, mutual cooperation, joint promotion.

Digital retail is a process of decentralization. If we summarize the Internet model in the classic sense, we can clearly see that platformization and centralization are undoubtedly the most classic form and manifestation of the Internet.When the digital retail era comes, in order to bring its development away from the mire of the Internet and achieve new breakthroughs and development, we must do is to take the development of digital retail away from the mire of the center and platform, and really treat it in a way of de-platformization and decentralization.When digital retail is no longer a synonym for platformization and centralization, its development can truly enter a new stage of development.

For every player aiming to make a difference in the digital retail era, what they need to do is to continuously decentralize and platformize, and truly achieve a process of direct delivery of goods to consumers.In this process, digital retail players need to continuously embrace the upstream end of production and truly disappear into the vast ocean of production.When digital retail players really integrate with the production end of the retail industry, and truly realize the direct supply and direct connection of goods to consumers, its development will truly enter a new stage of development.Do not use the Internet thinking to guess another important manifestation of digital retail, is that we need to no longer use the construction of platforms and centers to obtain their own development, but need to constantly find the process of deep integration with the upstream production end and industry end.When the players of digital retail really realize such a integration, the development of digital retail can jump out of the development stage of Internet-based platform and centralization, and really enter a new stage of development.

Digital retail is a process of deintermediation. Another important manifestation of using the Internet thinking to view digital retail is that it no longer realizes the connection between commodities and consumers through matchmaking and intermediary, but starts to realize the process of deintermediation through the positive interaction between production and consumption end and the opening up of data.In this process, the various matchmaking and intermediary methods we have seen in the Internet era in the past will no longer be effective. Instead, a new way of connection is reached based on the benign interaction between the production end and the consumption end.Only when digital retail realizes such a deintermediated docking mode, and no longer defines itself as a matchmaker and intermediary, can the development of digital retail truly enter a new stage of development.In order to make the development of digital retail out of the thinking of the Internet, it is necessary to abandon the development mode dominated by matchmaking and intermediary in the Internet era, and truly bring its own development into a new state of development without intermediary and matchmaking parties.To achieve this, we need a deep and comprehensive digital transformation of retail-related processes and links.Elements, processes and links of retail can be realized in the form of digital, and truly under the digital mechanism, the production end and consumption end can be effectively connected.When such an efficient docking is achieved, digital retail will no longer be an intermediate existence, but a data transmission interface and flow channel. Through such an efficient docking and connectivity, another form of docking between the production end and the consumption end can be realized.

When digital retail no longer needs Internet-style matchmaking and intermediary to reach the connection between production and consumption end, when the mainstream business model of digital retail is no longer an Internet-style platform and center, and when the profit point of digital retail is no longer the cost of matchmaking and intermediary, its development can truly jump out of the Internet and enter a completely new stage of development.From this perspective, digital retail is actually a process of de-intermediation. With the advent of the digital retail era in a real sense, the role of intermediation that we are used to now will no longer exist, but instead will be the efficient connectivity and docking of digital and data between the upstream and downstream of the industry.

Conclusion

Only to view and develop digital retail in the way of the Internet is bound to be unable to bring the development of digital retail into its own development track.In order to let the development of digital retail to find its own development mode, it is necessary that players no longer use the Internet thinking to figure out digital retail, it is necessary that players no longer use Internet style ways and methods to land and develop digital retail.In essence, it is a process of bringing digital retail back to retail. It is a process of de-platforming and de-intermediation.When digital retail truly realizes this, and defines and develops itself with a new attitude, its development can jump out of the Internet and truly enter a new stage of development.