Online meets offline, as New Retail spreads

Tech giants team up with retailers to bring cashless shopping, facial recognition and more to stores

Two years after overtaking the United States as the world's largest consumer market, China is gaining pace in revolutionizing the retailscape, with merchants hailing the dawn of the New Retail.

New Retail refers to the integration, or interlinking, of online and offline shopping using modern technologies, data and customer engagement techniques. It is a faddish term coined in 2016 by Alibaba's charismatic founder Jack Ma. In his words, New Retail is making the distinction between physical and virtual commerce obsolete.