TOP BIT
China’s major instant-delivery apps — including Meituan (similar to Uber Eats), Ele.me (Alibaba’s delivery service), and online retailer JD.com — are outbidding each other with discounts worth billions. With doorstep deliveries in just 30 to 60 minutes, they aim to win new customers and expand market share.
The regulator is now stepping in and calling for fair competition.
The Details
📈 Order records: Meituan logs 150 million daily orders, while Alibaba’s “Taobao Instant” hits 80 million orders and 200 million daily users.
💵 Discount arms race: Alibaba is pumping roughly $7 billion into coupons; Meituan is dangling about $14 billion in additional price cuts.
🏃 New challenger: JD.com is aggressively entering food delivery, waiving fees for merchants initially and planning 100,000 full-time couriers.
⚙️ Logistics power: Meituan operates over 30,000 micro-warehouses; Ele.me leverages Alibaba’s nationwide network. Average delivery time: 34 minutes.
🛑 Regulatory stop sign: The watchdog urges platforms to curb promotions, pay couriers fairly, and strictly enforce hygiene standards.
Why It Matters
Consumption impulse: Flash discounts stimulate domestic demand and support China’s growth targets.
Job engine: Hundreds of thousands of new rider jobs are created, though social-security coverage remains a concern.
Global relevance: China’s race for minute-speed delivery sets new e-commerce benchmarks worldwide—companies from Amazon to DoorDash are watching whether this model can be sustained and exported.
Background
“Instant retail” merges online shopping with local delivery in under an hour. A 2023 government study valued the market at $90 billion; it could exceed $280 billion by 2030. As classic sale events like Singles’ Day lose momentum, the giants are banking on speed as the new selling point.
The big question: Can they maintain this pace once the discount billions dry up?
📊 All Data & Details: CGTN, Yicai, Financial Times
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