Store exploration economy, a new trend or a bubble? An in-depth analysis of the business logic behind it

As an emerging consumption model, the store exploration economy provides consumers with consumption suggestions through the on-site experience of store explorers, while also bringing traffic to businesses. This article will explore the definition, characteristics, development history and various participants in the store exploration economy, and analyze how this model breaks through the barriers between online and offline, provides personalized services, and promotes consumption upgrades.

1. Overview of the store exploration economy

Definition and characteristics

The store exploration economy is an emerging consumption model that connects online and offline, supply and demand, through the on-site consumption experience of store explorers , provides consumption suggestions for consumers, and attracts customers for businesses. The core feature of this model is personalized service enabled by digitalization , making full use of digital technology to break the limitations of time and space and realize personalized interaction between service providers and users.

The uniqueness of the store exploration economy is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1. Connecting online and offline : Store explorers use short videos, live broadcasts, and other forms to showcase the services and products of physical stores online, thereby driving traffic to offline merchants.
2. Providing consumption references : Store experts share their real experiences, providing consumers with credible and effective consumption experience feedback and reducing consumers’ search costs.
3. Assist merchants with marketing : Store exploration content provides merchants with new marketing channels, which is particularly helpful for niche and remote area merchants to gain more attention.
4. Activate the long-tail market : Store explorers can discover the vast long-tail market at a relatively low cost, bringing development opportunities to small stores, old stores, and niche scenic spots in remote areas.
5. Promote consumption upgrade : Store exploration content meets consumers' demand for high-quality, differentiated services and promotes the upgrade of consumer experience.
6. Cultural communication carrier : Store visits not only display products and services, but also convey culture and lifestyle, becoming a new channel for city image and cultural communication.

The essence of the store exploration economy is the product of the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy . It has reshaped the traditional business model through digital means and created new value for consumers and businesses. At the same time, the store exploration economy also faces problems such as content authenticity and business ethics, and all parties need to work together to promote its healthy and orderly development.

Development History

As an emerging business model, the store exploration economy has experienced an evolution from wild growth to standardized development. July 31, 2024 is a milestone. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Bureau of Statistics jointly released a new batch of new occupation information. "Life Service Experiencer" was officially included in the National Occupational Classification as a new type of work, marking that store exploration experts have obtained an officially recognized professional identity.

This recognition not only raised the social status of the store exploration industry, but also laid the foundation for the standardized development of the industry. Subsequently, major platforms have introduced relevant policies and regulations, such as Douyin's online store exploration regulations, which clarified the rights and responsibilities of all parties and effectively promoted the healthy development of the industry. These measures have jointly promoted the evolution of the store exploration economy in a more standardized and orderly direction, paving the way for its long-term sustainable development.

2. Store exploration economy

Key players

The store exploration economy ecosystem includes multiple key players, each of which plays an indispensable role in this emerging business model. They mainly include:

1) Store explorer

Store explorers are the core driving force of the entire ecosystem. They provide consumers with real and valuable consumption suggestions through on-site visits and experiences. These experts usually have certain professional knowledge or unique perspectives, and can accurately grasp the needs and interests of the target audience. For example, "Dumpling Dad" Zhao Deyu focuses on catering and novel life experiences, and recommends high-quality local life consumption to netizens through his Douyin account "Dumpling Dad Visits Beijing".

It is worth noting that store exploration experts are becoming an important employment direction. Data shows that in the first three quarters of 2023, 1.65 million Douyin store exploration experts made money, a year-on-year increase of 131%, of which 580,000 earned a stable income by exploring stores.

This reflects that the store-exploring economy has created new opportunities for flexible employment, and also illustrates the important position of influencers in this ecosystem.

2) Merchants

Merchants are another core participant in the store exploration economy. By cooperating with store exploration experts, they can gain more exposure opportunities and customer sources. Especially in the current situation where the consumption environment has shifted from being dominated by physical consumption to being driven by both physical consumption and service consumption, the store exploration economy provides merchants with a new marketing path. For example, a small Cantonese restaurant quickly attracted a large number of customers through Gao Wenqi's store exploration video, and even queues appeared.

This fully demonstrates the positive impact of the store exploration economy on merchants, especially for small and emerging merchants, which is a low-cost and high-efficiency marketing method.

3) Consumers

Consumers are the ultimate beneficiaries of the store exploration economy. By watching the content of store exploration experts, consumers can obtain real and comprehensive information about goods and services, so as to make more informed consumption decisions. This model not only improves consumers' shopping experience, but also provides them with more diverse choices. For example, through the recommendations of store exploration experts, consumers can discover some high-quality stores or attractions hidden in the corners of the city. This greatly expands the consumer's consumption scope and also increases the fun of consumption.

4) Platform

Platforms play a dual role as connectors and rule makers in the store exploration economy. They provide a place for store exploration experts and merchants to communicate and trade, and also formulate corresponding rules and standards to maintain the healthy development of the entire ecosystem. For example, Douyin Life Service has launched store exploration regulations, which clarify the rights and responsibilities of all parties.

This helps ensure the authenticity of store exploration content, prevent false advertising, and protect consumer rights, while also providing clear behavioral guidelines for merchants and influencers.

A closely connected ecosystem has been formed among these participants. Store explorers attract audiences by providing high-quality content and bring customers to merchants; merchants give back to consumers and experts by providing high-quality services; and consumers feed back to the entire system by sharing their experiences. This virtuous cycle promotes the sustainable development of the store exploration economy and creates value for all participants.

Platform Role

In the store exploration economic ecosystem, the platform plays a vital role, connecting store explorers, merchants and consumers. As the hub of the entire ecosystem, the platform not only provides a place for communication and transactions for all parties, but also bears the important responsibility of formulating rules and maintaining order.

Taking Douyin’s life service as an example, the platform has played a key role in the store exploration economy:

1. Standardized management : In 2023, Douyin launched the industry's first store exploration standard, which clarified the code of conduct for each subject in store exploration. The introduction of this standard laid the foundation for the healthy development of the store exploration economy and helped resolve various disputes that may arise during the store exploration process.
2. Credit system construction : Douyin has established a credit evaluation mechanism for influencers, including service points, deposits and liquidated damages. These measures are aimed at increasing the cost of influencers' violations and promoting the authenticity and quality of content. According to statistics, since 2024, the platform has dealt with more than 4,000 influencers who violated the rules and cleared 123 low-quality and high-yield institutions, effectively purifying the ecological environment for exploring stores.
3. Data support : The platform provides merchants and influencers with a wealth of data analysis tools. For example, merchants can use the platform's data analysis to understand which types of store exploration content are most popular, so as to design marketing strategies more targeted. At the same time, influencers can also use data analysis to understand their own content preferences and audience characteristics and optimize content creation.
4. Resource integration : The platform integrates a large amount of store exploration resources, providing a convenient cooperation channel for merchants and influencers. For example, merchants can publish store exploration tasks through the platform and find suitable influencers to cooperate with; and influencers can also find tasks suitable for their IP through the platform. This model greatly improves the operating efficiency of the store exploration economy.
5. Content review : The platform has established a strict content review mechanism to ensure the authenticity and compliance of store exploration content. This not only protects the interests of consumers, but also provides a fair competition environment for merchants.

Through these measures, the platform has effectively balanced the interests of all parties and promoted the healthy development of the store exploration economy. At the same time, the platform is also constantly innovating, such as increasing investment in areas such as wine, tourism and entertainment, and promoting the diversified development of store exploration content. This continuous effort has enabled the store exploration economy to continue to advance in standardization and innovation, injecting new vitality into the entire industry.

Merchant Type

In the booming store exploration economy, various businesses have actively participated, forming a diversified business structure. In addition to the catering industry mentioned above, it also includes:

1. Accommodation industry : such as hotels, B&Bs, etc.
2. Tourism : covering attractions, travel agencies, etc.
3. Retail : including shopping malls, specialty stores, etc.
4. Entertainment industry : such as cinemas, KTV, amusement parks, etc.
5. Beauty salons, barber shops, etc.
6. Fitness industry : gyms, yoga studios, etc.

By cooperating with store explorers, these businesses not only expand their marketing channels, but also accurately reach their target customer base, effectively increasing their visibility and sales. The store exploration economy has brought new vitality to these traditional industries and promoted the overall improvement of service quality and user experience.

3. Store exploration content creation

Content format

There are various forms of store exploration content creation, mainly including short videos and live broadcasts, each with its own characteristics and applicable scenarios:

1) Short videos are the most common form of store exploration content. Its characteristics are as follows:

• Low production threshold : creators only need a smartphone to complete shooting and editing.
• Good spread effect : easy to spread virally on social media platforms.
• Content refinement : Usually controlled within one minute, quickly convey the core information.
• Strong visual impact : Create a strong sense of immersion through carefully designed pictures and music.

Short videos are suitable for quickly capturing and displaying the highlights of a business, such as the appearance of dishes, the store environment, etc. For example, a store explorer can show the preparation process of a signature dish in just a dozen seconds, accompanied by attractive pictures and dynamic music, quickly attracting the audience's attention.

2) Live streaming provides a more real-time and interactive experience:

• Strong real-time nature : viewers can ask questions instantly, increasing the interactivity of the content.
• Comprehensive display : Long live broadcast allows for more details to be displayed.
• High authenticity : Live broadcasts are difficult to fake, which increases the credibility of the content.
• Strong social attributes : Interactions in the comment area create a sense of community.

Live streaming is particularly suitable for displaying complex service processes or large venues. For example, a newly opened theme restaurant can use a two-hour live streaming to introduce in detail the decoration style of each private room, the preparation process of special dishes, and even invite chefs to cook on the spot, making the audience feel as if they are in the restaurant.

In addition, there are other auxiliary content forms:

• Graphic notes: suitable for introducing details such as the taste of dishes and service experience.
• Audio podcasts: suitable for in-depth interviews with store owners or chefs to discuss business philosophy and menu ideas.
• VR panoramic video: Provides an immersive experience, especially suitable for displaying large shopping malls or theme parks.

These diverse content forms together constitute a rich ecosystem of the store exploration economy, meet the needs of different scenarios and audiences, and promote the innovative development of the entire industry.

Hot Fields

The content creation of the store exploration economy covers many popular fields, among which food, travel and shopping are the three most popular sectors:

1. Food : Restaurant experts provide viewers with an intuitive taste experience by tasting and commenting on local specialties.
2. Tourism : Focus on scenic spot introduction, route planning and cultural experience to meet people's needs for leisure and vacation.
3. Shopping : Covering multiple sub-sectors such as fashion trends, beauty and skin care, helping consumers make wise purchasing decisions.

In addition, fitness, entertainment , and technology and digital technology are also emerging hot spots that have emerged in recent years, reflecting contemporary consumers' pursuit of quality life and curiosity about new things. These diversified content creation fields not only meet the interests and needs of different audiences, but also inject new vitality into the sustainable development of the store exploration economy.

Creative techniques

In the creation of store exploration content, attractive titles are crucial. A successful title can not only arouse readers' interest, but also improve the dissemination effect of the content. Here are three practical store exploration copywriting tips:

1. Title writing method : Use the combination of "suspense + keywords", such as "Revealing the most popular online celebrity store in Beijing, it is hidden in this inconspicuous alley!" Such a title can both arouse curiosity and highlight the geographical location information.
2. Content structure : Follow the "storytelling + highlight extraction" model, first introduce with personal experience, then gradually reveal the characteristics of the store, and finally give an overall evaluation.
3. Language style : Using vivid metaphors and exaggerated rhetoric, such as describing a dish as "so delicious that it makes people want to swallow it", not only adds interest, but also deepens the reader's impression.

These techniques can effectively enhance the attractiveness and dissemination effect of store exploration content, and help creators create high-quality store exploration works.

4. Economic Benefit Analysis

Merchant benefits

The store exploration economy has brought significant economic benefits to merchants, especially showing strong growth momentum in 2024. According to data released by Douyin Life Service, this year, the store exploration of experts has created amazing economic benefits for offline merchants:

These data fully demonstrate the huge driving force of the store exploration economy on physical business. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, store exploration has become an efficient and low-cost marketing method.

By analyzing the performance of different industries in depth, we can see that the impact of the store exploration economy presents obvious differentiated characteristics:

1. Apparel, shoes and hats : The number of stores released for exploration increased by 15,788% year-on-year
2. Home Furnishing and Building Materials : The number of stores announced to visit increased by 1951% year-on-year

The astonishing growth rates of these two industries highlight the huge potential of the store exploration model in non-traditional fields. This shows that in addition to common fields such as catering and tourism, the store exploration economy is gradually penetrating into a wider range of consumer goods and service industries, opening up new marketing channels for companies.

The effect of the store exploration economy is not only reflected in macro data, but also confirmed at the micro level. Take Huang Shang Huang Company as an example: the company successfully created the pig trotter internet celebrity snack brand "Du Jiao Xi" through the store exploration marketing strategy. In the first half of 2024, the company released more than 1,500 short videos through store visits by store experts and brand-independent live broadcasts, with a cumulative exposure of 120 million, successfully attracting 400,000 people to the store for consumption.

This case vividly demonstrates how the store exploration economy can help traditional companies achieve brand rejuvenation transformation and attract more young consumers through content marketing.

The success of the store exploration economy has also spawned a series of innovative marketing models. For example, Hengdian Film and Television has developed a complex model of "official broadcast by headquarters + live broadcast by experts + live broadcast by professionals". Through the Douyin expert group buying channel, live broadcast sales revenue accounts for one-third of the total revenue. This multi-level and all-round marketing strategy not only increases the brand's exposure, but also achieves accurate target customer positioning, thereby significantly improving the conversion rate.

These data and cases fully demonstrate the huge potential of the store exploration economy in increasing merchants' profits. Both traditional industries and emerging industries can find new growth points through the store exploration model and achieve rapid growth in performance. With the continuous development and improvement of the store exploration economy, it is expected that more merchants will benefit from it in the future, promoting the prosperity and development of the overall economy.

Career Opportunities

As an emerging form of employment, the store-exploring economy has created a large number of employment opportunities for different groups. This new employment model not only provides flexible work options for young people, but also opens up a new source of income for residents in low-tier cities, especially women.

Employment status of store explorers

The store exploration economy has created a large number of employment opportunities for different groups. Data shows that as of November 2024, more than 3.36 million people on the Douyin platform earned income by visiting stores . This figure reflects the huge potential of the store exploration economy as an emerging employment field.

The employment characteristics of store explorers are as follows:

• Age composition : Mainly young and middle-aged people aged 20 to 40.
• Gender distribution : The proportion of women is slightly higher. Except for the age group over 50 years old, the proportion of women in other age groups is higher than that of men.
• Geographical distribution : It shows the characteristics of urban and rural synchronization and regional coordinated development. The proportion of store explorers with urban and rural household registration is 53.8% and 46.2% respectively.
• Employment model : Flexible and diverse, with both full-time and part-time jobs. Among full-time store explorers, 43.53% spend more than 40 hours per week exploring stores; among part-time store explorers, 60.18% spend less than 10 hours per week exploring stores.

This flexible employment model provides different groups with job options that suit their needs.

Income

The income level of store explorers is positively correlated with their working time. Data shows that among full-time store explorers who have been working for more than 3 years, 73.89% have a monthly income of more than 3,000 yuan.

This data shows that as experience accumulates, store explorers can earn better income, showing that this profession has good development prospects.

The employment opportunities of the store exploration economy are not limited to the store exploration experts themselves, but also extend to the relevant industrial chain. For example, store exploration activities have driven the employment and income growth of related groups such as store expansion, raw material production and online delivery. This chain reaction further expands the employment effect of the store exploration economy and creates more employment opportunities for the entire society.

Development Trend

Employment opportunities in the store exploration economy are showing a trend of sustained growth. With the standardized development of the industry, more people are expected to join the store exploration industry. At the same time, with the advancement of technology and changes in consumer demand, the forms and fields of store exploration content may be further expanded, providing job seekers with a broader development space. This emerging employment form not only provides individuals with flexible work options, but also injects new vitality into local economic development, demonstrating the diversity and innovation of employment models in the digital economy era.

Consumption guidance

The store exploration economy plays an important role in guiding consumption. Through store exploration videos and live broadcasts by experts, consumers' desire to buy is effectively stimulated. Data shows that in 2024, store exploration content has driven a 53% increase in merchants' revenue, among which small and medium-sized merchants have benefited particularly significantly. Nearly 1.44 million small and medium-sized merchants have gained more than 42.5 billion yuan in increased revenue through store exploration experts, fully demonstrating the positive role of the store exploration economy in promoting consumption and stabilizing operations.

This new consumption guidance model not only brings considerable economic benefits to businesses, but also provides consumers with a rich and diverse range of consumption choices, promoting the vitality and development of the overall consumer market.

Author: Jinyi Public account: Jinyi