Data-Driven Retail Transformation

| Client Profile

Chongqing Department Store (Chongbai) is the largest retail and distribution group in Western China and has been listed among China’s Top 100 Retailers for more than ten consecutive years. In 2023, the group reported revenue of RMB 27.21 billion (excluding tax) and a total profit of RMB 1.44 billion. Its operations cover department stores, supermarkets, home appliances, and automobile trade. The supermarket division runs two key brands, Chongbai Supermarket and New Century Supermarket, with over 240 stores in total. These include 151 large-format outlets, 87 smaller stores, and 3 franchise locations, generating annual sales of more than RMB 9 billion.

| Collaboration Background

As consumer preferences shift and online and offline channels continue to merge, Chongbai initiated a group-wide smart retail transformation.

In partnership with DMALL, it made digital intelligence a core growth driver, weaving it into every part of the business to boost sales and improve efficiency.

| Co-Creation Journey

Starting Point: Prepaid Cards Powering an Integrated Membership Ecosystem

Prepaid cards have long been a high-margin category in retail, but engaging individual consumers has always been a challenge. Chongbai, together with DMALL, addressed this by introducing a unified digital prepaid card that spans department stores, supermarkets, home appliance outlets, and auto dealerships. This single card connected previously fragmented membership programs and shopping journeys.

• Digital cards have fully replaced physical cards, bringing card issuance costs down to zero (previously, over 1 million physical cards cost RMB 260,000). Activation efficiency has also surged, with up to one million cards automatically activated within 15 minutes, compared to only 1,000 magnetic cards encoded per day in the past.

• Serving as a bridge, prepaid cards connect membership management, member marketing, and cross-brand/business consumption. For example, in member marketing, by partnering with brand owners to offer additional discounts, the system leverages a small investment to generate over 20 times the sales, unlocking the full value of the card ecosystem.

Next Stage: DMALL OS Reshaping Retail Operation

Building on the prepaid card initiative, DMALL OS expanded into the group’s core operations, including merchandising, store displays, and replenishment. Acting as the intelligent hub of the business, it enabled a full end-to-end digital transformation. The result was a measurable reduction in operating costs and a substantial improvement in efficiency across the organization.

Continuous Evolution: Innovation Without Limits

As markets shift and consumer behavior evolves, DMALL has helped Chongbai continuously adapt by rolling out new digital capabilities.

• One focus has been the acceleration of social commerce. The group introduced Douyin (TikTok) features such as product vouchers and universal cash coupons, and later added in-store redemption for pre-sale vouchers. These capabilities provided strong support for large-scale promotional campaigns.

• Another strategic priority has been driving a green and low-carbon agenda. With electronic shelf labels, thousands of price updates across more than one hundred stores can be completed within minutes and with absolute accuracy. 

Data-Driven Decisions at Scale

With DMALL OS as its digital backbone, Chongbai has achieved full integration of online and offline operations, marking a decisive step into data-driven management. Real-time dashboards and offline analytics provide an all-round view of sales, fulfillment, service, and customer traffic. By turning data into clear insights, the business can make faster, smarter decisions and maintain stronger control over future outcomes.

| Co-Creation Achievements

A single card driving explosive sales growth

After introducing prepaid cards, Chongbai Group’s annual card sales jumped 148%, with consumer purchases rising to 51%, overturning the industry’s traditionally B2B model. Total annual prepaid card spending grew 91.7%. A single card type alone generated 6.7 million orders, while co-branded cards achieved a 20-fold sales multiplier.

Next-Level Efficiency Across the Retail Value Chain

• Merchandise: Out-of-stock rates fell from 6.4% to 1.9%, return rates dropped from 17.3% to 6.9%, the new product launch cycle was halved from 14 days to 7 days, and daily replenishment hours were reduced from 1,816 to 208.

• Supply Chain: Achieved fully digital end-to-end monitoring of warehousing and logistics. Piece-picking efficiency increased from 200 to 346 items per hour. A next-day delivery network in the main city and two-day delivery to suburb areas enabled the daily movement of 100,000 items. Warehouse upgrades, including high-level shelving, expanded storage capacity by 9%.

• Finance & Operations: Integrated finance and operations management cut transactional finance workload from 82.6% to 38.6%, saving RMB 50 million.

Innovation in Action: Driving Value Through Retail Scenarios

• Rapid Adaptation to New Retail Features:By lerveraging Douyin(TikTok) new group coupon into immediate use for in-store redemption, DMALL propelled Chongbai’s cherry pre-sale to 30,000 orders, generating RMB 6 million in GMV.

• Hardware-Software Synergy Driving an Efficiency Revolution: By integrating DMALL OS with electronic shelf labels, pricing data for more than 10,000 SKUs across 150 stores is updated in real time. Tasks that once took two hours of manual adjustments can now be completed in just three minutes, eliminating human errors and greatly accelerating operations.

Data-Driven Decision-Making at a Higher Level

The three core dashboards, Performance, Management, and Exceptions, provide a clear view of store operations. Managers can track performance, sales trends, and budget fulfillment using data from overviews, category sales, real-time sales, and cashier records. Integrating data on store operations, inventory, logistics, order fulfillment, and workforce efficiency connects online and offline processes and enables precise analysis and control. Exception reports allow procurement teams, headquarters, and stores to efficiently detect anomalies, analyze root causes, and respond effectively. 

*Data based on actual feedback from DMALL clients.