Are you almost out of laundry detergent? Has your cutting board seen better days? Want a better deal on your favorite whitening toothpaste? Forget the shopping list and the trip to Carrefour – just jump on Taobao directly, and have your shopping done in 2 minutes. That’s what I like to call getting things done.

Alibaba recently announced that daily use goods (all the stuff you used to buy at the Carrefour) has emerged as Taobao’s top selling product category, surpassing traditional favorites such as women’s clothing and electronics.

This is huge news, with huge implications. Most simply, it means that Taobao is a competitive threat to Carrefour and other retailers that sell these daily use products. I have for a long time juxtaposed the convenience of Taobao against the anguish of a day at a crowded megamarket, and it is good to see my Taobaoized vision of the future crystallizing so neatly.

As Taobao absorbs more market demand, we will likely see slower growth of these brick-and-mortar stores. That means a different urban landscape, with lower demand for commercial space. Maybe instead of a new Carrefour, that space will become a coffee shop, from which to relax and read your favorite website. Or maybe a residential zone, increasing housing supply and lowering your rent. Or maybe even, dare not to dream it, a park.

Taobao can help prevent this  Photo credits: theogeo

It will also mean that Chinese people may feel less inclined to purchase a car to help them make their trips to the market and bring their purchased goods back home. China still has a great potential to build a society beyond the automobile. Taobao, and an army of kuaidi delivery guys on electric bicycles, are huge contributors to that cause.

Another interesting trend in the same report: manufacturers are taking advantage of the even playing field that Taobao offers to launch their own consumer brands.

Again, this platform for new brands did not exist in the former retail space. If you are not one of the three major sponge manufacturers out there, you probably aren’t getting any shelf space at the supermarket. The store’s physical limits have long been monetized and politicized, adding layers of cost and inefficiency to the system.

Taobao abolishes this retail dictatorship and gives all suppliers an even footing upon which to market their budding brands. No longer will someone’s great idea for a new product get crushed by the realities of the retail jungle.

Here’s my idea: Everybody get ready for my new line of consumer products which does away with all superfluous packaging in favor of one simple cardboard shipping box, which your ayi will be happy to help you recycle.

I have high hopes for Taobao, not only to provide a great deal on nose hair trimmers, but also to help shape China’s future while the clay is still wet.