Meituan logs 150m daily orders as Alibaba, JD.com step up fight

Meituan, a major on-demand delivery platform in China, announced a record of 150 million daily orders as of July 13, up from 120 million the previous week.

This growth reflects the company’s efforts to maintain its market position amid rising competition from JD.com and Alibaba. The milestone includes food and retail deliveries.

In March, CEO Wang Xing said Meituan plans to invest 100 billion yuan (US$13.9 billion) in the food service industry to support merchants and boost consumer demand.

Meituan currently holds about 70% of China’s on-demand delivery market, according to internal data from Leiphone.com.

JD.com is pushing back with full-time couriers, consumer discounts, and a 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) investment, reaching 25 million daily meal orders.

Meanwhile, Alibaba merged its Ele.me unit with its ecommerce business and launched a 50 billion yuan subsidy program.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ China’s delivery battle showcases unprecedented scale in global context

Meituan’s 150 million daily orders exemplify China’s dominance in the global food delivery landscape.

This volume dwarfs Western markets, as China alone generated $34 billion in online food delivery in 2018, representing more than half of the global market value 1.

For perspective, Meituan delivered 6.4 billion food orders in 2018 (averaging 17.5 million daily), indicating the company has increased its daily volume nearly nine-fold in seven years 2.

The intensity of China’s market is evident in consumer behavior, where 70% of users order food delivery at least weekly, with 35% ordering 4-6 times weekly, usage rates significantly higher than most international markets 2.

This scale explains why China’s top e-commerce companies are competing so aggressively, as they fight for dominance in what is projected to be the world’s largest on-demand delivery ecosystem.

2️⃣ The economics of market share pursuit reveals costly long-term strategy

The massive investments by competitors (Meituan’s 100 billion yuan, JD.com’s 10+ billion yuan) highlight how market leadership is prioritized over immediate profitability.