Meituan Reports Three Shifts in Service Retail as 2026 E-Commerce Conference Opens in Beijing

The 2026 E-Commerce Conference was held on September 9, 2026, at the Shougang International Convention and Exhibition Center in Beijing. The event is one of the themed forums in the 2026 Service Trade Development Series. At the conference, Chen Yifang, general manager of Meituan's Service Retail Le Life business unit, shared insights on service consumption trends. In 2025, service consumption expenditure by residents nationwide accounted for 46.1% of per capita consumption expenditure. Young people's service consumption covers ACG-related experiences such as makeup styling, scripted murder games and role-playing, as well as activities including fuse beads, rock climbing and racing.

Meituan data shows that in 2025, searches related to "experience classes" increased 69.7% year on year, the supply of experience classes priced under 10 yuan rose 152% year on year, and related spending grew 30% year on year. Activities such as rock climbing, equestrianism and handicrafts reached more consumers through small-ticket, short-cycle experiential products. Over the past two years, young users in sports consumption increased twofold, tennis users rose 155%, and both badminton and rock climbing users grew 80%. Over the past three years, the number of sports participants on Meituan in first-, second- and third-tier cities increased by more than 100%.

Meituan data shows that in 2025, the number of notes with keywords such as "one-stop entertainment" increased 118% year on year, consumers' playtime at related stores rose 40%, and users under 25 accounted for 50%. In the same year, searches for space-and-facility unmanned formats increased more than tenfold year on year, while transaction volume grew 604% year on year. Formats such as self-service billiards and unmanned karaoke rooms extended service hours through online booking, self-service verification and intelligent management, allowing consumers to access services at night or during off-peak hours.

At the 2026 E-Commerce Conference, Meituan showcased CatPaw, an AI business workstation that packages the platform's long-accumulated industry operating experience and AI capabilities into ready-to-use agents and skill tools. Merchants can use the industry agent expert team provided by Meituan to assist with review analysis, business diagnostics and store inspections, or configure or build dedicated agents based on their own business needs. Meituan said at the conference that it will continue to serve physical merchants' operations through digital and AI tools.