In recent years, with the rapid development of online channels, the impact of online “shocks” on maternal and child channels and their share of the cake being eaten up is an undeniable fact. During this process, there was once a viewpoint that online channels would eliminate the need for offline channels.
At the 2024 CBME Maternity, Baby, and Child Industry Summit, Mr. Song Liang, an independent dairy analyst, when discussing the future development direction of maternal and child channels, mentioned that offline maternal and child channels would be the most important channels combining professional products and services in the future. The price of offline products will be much higher than online, and their value cannot be ignored.
The following are insights shared by Song Liang, organized by CBME insights:
Regarding the future development of the maternal and child industry, there is no fixed pattern, but it will exist in a form that combines retail with local culture and local retail patterns. The core of this is the professional channel that combines professional products and services.
Admittedly, while online platforms compare prices, in the future, generic products, products with high circulation, and basic products will all be online, but genuinely high-quality products, personalized products, and products with high added value will still be found offline, because offline will gather high-quality products and specialized production services.
Additionally, the offline channel will always be fundamental to the brand’s sustained growth and maintenance.
Everyone knows that online platforms such as Little Red Book can bring about a so-called brand effect. However, a brand is alive, and the maintenance of its vitality is always offline, always through the face-to-face communication, maintenance, and service by numerous maternal and child specialists and consumers. At this time, we must be clear that the price offline will be much higher than online in the future.
I have always had a viewpoint: one very important aspect of the changes in Chinese consumption over the years is the change in consumer behavior, which brings a phenomenon: in the future, among specialized products, the brand value of products will decrease, and the brand value of platforms will increase. Consumers are more concerned with the brand value of the platform, and gradually the price associated with product brands will decrease while the platform’s price will rise.
Today, two business formats are developing and evolving in this direction: boutique maternity and child stores and therapeutic stores. Both are essentially professional channels that combine specialized products with services.
Firstly, boutique maternal and child stores, we know, face challenges from online, especially after the development of private domains, product homogenization, and price competition. Therefore, many boutique stores have integrated online and offline, insisting on high-quality, high-standard products, which is the right move. Boutique maternal and child stores must focus on luxury goods.
Then there are therapeutic stores, which are the starting point for the movement of professional products. However, the current problem is, therapeutic stores need very professional talents, so the threshold is very high. Today, many therapeutic stores are moving too fast and are too eager, becoming places where nutritional products overflow. But the development of therapeutic stores must take a long professional route, where the professional level of the store must be high, the quality and professional capabilities of the staff are no less than hospital doctors, and along this path, their stores are not chain-based, but personalized, individual stores.
In conclusion, against the backdrop of such a channel shuffle, I believe that in the future, the number of stores will shrink to 50,000-80,000, and enhancing their professional service capabilities is the direction for future transformation.
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