(Yicai) Oct. 10 -- Leading Chinese supermarket chain Yonghui Superstores plans to set up discount stores and add discount areas on its online app and WeChat mini-program.

Instead of offering discounts for near-expired commodities, Yonghui will evaluate their performance through digital means and select new, trending, and conventional products for the discount area to sell at 70 percent, 50 percent, and 30 percent discount, according to reports.

Discount stores are a retail format mainly selling goods of private brands with a fast turnover and limited varieties, whose primary purpose is to provide consumers with value-for-money products.

"Discount stores are a major trend in the retail industry given the current market environment," the relevant person in charge of Yonghui said. "They can not only improve the replacement efficiency of Yonghui products but also further diversify our inventory to bring more cost-effective choices to consumers."

Annual sales of goods through discount stores jumped over 10 percent last year, while those via traditional and e-commerce channels rose only 7.2 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, according to a report from market research firm Kantar Worldpanel. Discount stores were the segment with the fastest growth for the first time last year.

Alibaba Group Holding's supermarket chain Freshippo also tapped into the discount retail industry. Its founder Hou Yi said at a press conference in August that discount retail stores reflect the differentiation of goods and minimize the purchase price of goods through a high-quality supply chain, adding that they are in great need in China's retail market. Freshippo had opened 68 discount stores in China as of June.

Editor: Futura Costaglione