【China】SF Intra-City’s “Double 11” Daily Intra-City Delivery Orders Surge Over 50% YoY, with Instant Delivery for Multiple Categories Including Supermarkets, Cosmetics, and Jewelry

The 17th “Double 11” shopping festival has concluded. Data from Syntun shows that the total sales of comprehensive e-commerce platforms during this year’s promotion reached 1.619 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%. Instant retail emerged as the biggest dark horse this year, with full-channel sales reaching 67 billion yuan, a surge of 138.4% year-on-year. Compared to previous years, this year’s “Double 11” strategically extended the promotional period, presenting new characteristics of slowing growth, simplified promotional mechanics, and deeper value exploration. Against the backdrop of diminishing traffic dividends, instant retail has become a core breakthrough for platforms seeking growth, pushing fulfillment timelines into the “minute-level” and highlighting the unique “shovel seller” value of third-party instant delivery platforms with full-scenario, omni-channel fulfillment capabilities.

Data from SF Intra-City, China’s largest third-party instant delivery platform, shows that during this year’s “Double 11” period, the daily average volume of intra-city delivery orders increased by over 50% compared to the same period last year. In terms of categories, food and beverage orders have maintained strong growth since the “food delivery wars,” with beverage order volume surging over 160% year-on-year and fast-food order volume growing 110% year-on-year. Additionally, non-food categories such as supermarkets & department stores, cosmetics, and jewelry saw high double-digit growth in order volume. As a neutral third-party platform, SF Intra-City’s omni-channel order performance was impressive during the major promotion: orders received from platforms like Douyin, Meituan, Taobao Flash, JD.com Instant Delivery, and merchants’ own platforms all achieved significant growth. Furthermore, the “last-mile” delivery orders, which help accelerate traditional express delivery, grew at a high rate year-on-year. The daily average order volume for each segment—dispatch, transfer, and collection—far exceeded last year’s single-day peak, with the daily average collection order volume doubling compared to last year.

During “Double 11,” major platforms actively deployed instant retail strategies. Taobao Flash collaborated with over 37,000 brands and 400,000 stores, participating with a “far-field pricing + near-field fulfillment” model. JD.com integrated instant retail into its core strategy in early October, attracting users with “instant delivery of goods at up to 50% off.” Meituan continued to expand its supply chain coverage through “central warehouses + flash warehouses.” Driven by these platforms, tens of thousands of brands joined the fray, expanding instant retail categories from food and beverage to fresh produce, electronics, pharmaceuticals, home appliances, and other full-consumption scenarios. On the consumer side, a new trend of “no need to凑满减 (凑满减 refers to a common discount tactic where you need to reach a certain amount for a discount), no waiting for pre-sales” emerged, with more categories and higher-priced goods reaching consumers via instant delivery. These changes place higher demands on supply chain fulfillment capabilities, highlighting the value of service providers with full-scenario and coordinated near-far field delivery capabilities.

In the process of deploying instant retail for categories like supermarkets, cosmetics, electronics, and pharmaceuticals, SF Intra-City provides brands with integrated supply chain solutions encompassing “warehousing + transfer + intra-city instant delivery.” It has established partnerships with numerous brand stores and flash warehouses, strengthening near-field fulfillment capabilities that were tested during the major promotion. The company is also delving deeper into more细分领域 (segmented fields), such as launching supermarket & department store solutions, providing customized services for leading supermarket clients like Sam’s Club and Yonghui Supermarket, including store-to-door delivery within hours, city-wide long-distance shuttle services, and in-store return pickups. Order volumes for categories like cosmetics & jewelry and supermarkets & department stores achieved high double-digit year-on-year growth.

The momentum from the “flash sale wars” extended into “Double 11,” driving e-commerce platforms to peak instant delivery order volumes. Data from Meituan Flash shows that sales for nearly 400 categories, including mobile phones and白酒 (baijiu, Chinese liquor), doubled. Daily active users on platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu also increased significantly. As a neutral third-party instant delivery platform, SF Intra-City effectively supplemented the surge in delivery capacity需求 (demand) during peak periods for platforms like Meituan and Taobao Flash, and also served platforms without their own logistics systems. During “Double 11,” orders from Douyin, Meituan, Taobao Flash, JD.com Instant Delivery, and merchants’ own channels all saw significant growth. Its customization capabilities also support精细化的需求 (refined needs) such as Douyin live-streaming “order when broadcast starts, deliver when it ends,” as well as long-distance, heavy-weight orders.

With the simplification of “Double 11” promotion rules, delivery speed and fulfillment stability have become new focal points of competition.
Data from the State Post Bureau shows that during this year’s “Double 11” period, national express delivery business volume累计达 (cumulatively reached) 13.938 billion pieces, with the daily average collection volume being 117.8% of the normal business volume, characterized by a long周期 (cycle), large volume, and持续承压 (sustained pressure) on the network. To cope with logistics pressure, platforms and logistics companies improved末端服务能力 (last-mile service capabilities) by promoting unmanned delivery and upgrading information systems. For example, SF Intra-City deployed over 800 unmanned vehicles in more than 100 cities across China, with a monthly average of about 20,000 active trips, primarily undertaking short-distance shuttles and网点集散配送 (distribution hub collection and distribution) under the “last-mile” business. During the promotion, unmanned vehicles significantly freed up manpower and ensured overall fulfillment efficiency by efficiently handling peak orders in batches.

Currently, SF Intra-City’s services are deeply embedded in various segments of intra-city logistics. By promoting traditional express delivery acceleration through “last-mile” delivery, the daily average order volume for each segment during “Double 11” significantly exceeded last year’s single-day peak. Its business scope covers diverse scenarios such as e-commerce parcel dispatch, collection, and return上门揽收 (door-to-door pickup for returns). The daily average collection order volume increased by over 106% year-on-year, effectively alleviating运力压力 (capacity pressure) during peak periods. Simultaneously, relying on models like warehouse-based “transfer” and “shuttle delivery,” it helps upgrade traditional logistics时效 (time efficiency) to half-day or hour-level delivery.

Instant retail changed the landscape of this year’s “Double 11,” reflecting both shifts in consumer habits and serving as a stress test and value reassessment for商业基础设施 (commercial infrastructure). From brands’ omni-channel布局 (deployments) to the deep participation of餐饮商家 (food and beverage merchants), and platforms’ increased investment in logistics infrastructure, all parties are jointly推动着 (driving) instant fulfillment towards greater efficiency, stability, and全场景 (full-scenario) coverage. In this process, SF Intra-City, with its neutral属性 (attributes) and full-scenario service capabilities, is demonstrating irreplaceable infrastructure value.