Core Viewpoint - Meituan has launched its first AI product, "XiaoMei" App, aimed at enhancing user experience through personalized services and interactions, marking a significant step in its AI strategy [2][5]. Group 1: Product Launch and Features - "XiaoMei" is positioned as a C-end AI product, utilizing Meituan's self-developed model LongCat—Flash—Chat, and is designed to assist users in various life scenarios [2]. - The app operates independently from the Meituan App, focusing on providing a genuine AI service rather than just an AI feature within the existing platform [2]. - The product aims to simplify tasks such as ordering coffee, arranging breakfast, and recommending restaurants through natural language interactions [2]. Group 2: AI Strategy and Investment - Meituan's AI strategy is characterized by an "offensive" approach, integrating AI into daily operations and developing new native products to better serve consumers and partners [4]. - The company invests over 10 billion yuan annually in AI infrastructure and model development, recognizing the importance of solid AI foundations to leverage accumulated data resources [4]. - Meituan has introduced various AI tools to support the retail industry, including large models and AI decision-making assistants, indicating a commitment to enhancing market competitiveness through technology [3]. Group 3: Industry Impact and Future Directions - The introduction of AI agents is seen as a crucial move in Meituan's "retail + technology" ecosystem, expanding service boundaries and improving operational efficiency [5]. - The application of AI technology in local life services is shifting the industry towards a "smart + real-time" operational model, enhancing delivery precision and service matching [5]. - Meituan's strategic upgrade to "retail + technology" aims to deeply integrate technological capabilities into local life services and retail, focusing on instant retail, smart supply chains, and unmanned delivery [5].

据悉，首期活动所覆盖景区包含中华泰山封禅大典、九皇山景区、水韵琅琊-开心麻花《空降未婚妻》剧场、皇家御河游（紫御湾码头）、青岛海底世 界、临沂极地海洋王（002724）国、江西龙虎山景区、长江荣耀号游船、北京后花园（昌平区）、无锡融创乐园、湖北三角山旅游度假区、海蓝星梦幻 城、北戴河碧螺塔海上酒吧公园、广东和美术馆等多个休闲度假景区。当前，参与免票的单张门票面额最高近300元。 国庆将至，周末游及国庆出行"提前订"持续火爆。9月12日，美团旅行宣布，将于本周六（9月13日）上线"周六门票真免单"活动，后续也考虑周六持续推 出此类优惠活动。据了解，首期活动覆盖全国近20个省市区，约200家热门景区。美团黑钻、黑金、铂金会员每人每周可享一次"周六0元入园"。美团会员 可在美团App上点击"我的-美团会员真免单"进入活动页面，领取免费门票。 ▲图：美团旅行将于9月13日上线"周六门票真免单"活动，惠及黑钻、黑金、铂金会员 一张小票根，成为拉动当地住宿、餐饮的"锚点"，释放更多消费潜能。当前，美团旅行"交叉获客"优势越发凸显。数据显示，过去一年，美团平台"住宿 +玩乐"增长99%。免单首道门票，进而推进"以票带住"" ...

Core Viewpoint - The competition between Alibaba and Meituan in the local lifestyle sector has intensified, with both companies launching new initiatives on the same day to capture market share in offline store services [2]. Group 1: Alibaba's Strategy - Alibaba launched the "Gaode Street Ranking" on September 10, leveraging Gaode Map's user behavior data to compete directly with Meituan's Dazhong Dianping [2]. - Gaode Map has three key advantages: it is a high-frequency app with 186 million daily active users, it possesses rich behavioral data reflecting genuine consumer intent, and it offers integrated services that facilitate seamless transactions [2]. - The initial response to the Gaode Street Ranking was strong, with over 40 million users engaging with the feature on its first day [2]. Group 2: Meituan's Response - Meituan announced the "restart" of Dazhong Dianping's quality takeaway service, utilizing AI models to filter out fake reviews and enhance user trust [2][5]. - Meituan aims to strengthen its traditional advantage in user-generated content (UGC) while ensuring the authenticity of reviews through AI-driven data cleaning [5][6]. Group 3: Industry Challenges and Technological Impact - The local lifestyle sector has faced challenges over the past two decades, including user exploitation of discounts and the prevalence of fake reviews, leading to issues of information asymmetry and trust [3]. - AI technology is transforming the landscape by addressing trust issues for both users and merchants, allowing for more reliable decision-making and enabling lesser-known businesses to gain visibility [4][6]. - Despite the technological advancements, Meituan's long-standing user habits, merchant relationships, and service depth present significant barriers for Gaode to overcome in the competitive landscape [6].

阿里和美团的外卖"战火"，烧到了本地生活战场！就在9月10号阿里周年庆这天，高德地图突然甩出一 张新牌——"高德扫街榜"。这是一份基于用户真实行为数据的吃喝玩乐榜单，明显对标了大众点评。 也就在同一天，美团宣布大众点评"重启"品质外卖，将通过大模型结合海量真实评价数据，进一步剔除 那些非真实的内容，为用户提供可靠决策。 两套打法，一个基于"行为"，一个优化"内容"，但背后都是同一个引擎：AI。 本地生活的核心痛点，从来都是"信任"问题。用户怕被坑，商家怕被卷。而AI正在从两个方向破解这个 难题。 对我们用户而言，以前刷点评，要翻几十条评论才能判断一家店靠不靠谱，而AI赋能可以把杂乱的信 息提炼成了决策依据，可信性更高。 换句话说，高德是用"出行"切"消费"，用"导航"带"到店"，这招非常聪明。上线第一天，使用高德扫街 榜的用户就超过了4000万人。 但能不能竞争过美团，我们还是得来看看本地生活这个赛道。 过去二十年，本地生活存在不少困局，平台拼命拉新用户、发优惠券、签更多商家，而用户呢，一边薅 羊毛，一边还得面对"刷好评""假榜单"的坑。信息不对称、决策成本高、信任难建立的问题一直存在。 但技术赋能正在悄悄改 ...

Group 1 - The net buying of stocks by southbound funds includes Alibaba-W at 4.38 billion, Tencent Holdings at 0.929 billion, Pop Mart at 0.642 billion, Hua Hong Semiconductor at 0.401 billion, Kangfang Biotech at 0.225 billion, and Yaojie Ankang-B at 0.18 billion, while net selling includes Meituan-W at 1.682 billion, 3SBio at 0.294 billion, UBTECH at 0.228 billion, and Bilibili-W at 0.138 billion [1] - Southbound funds have continuously net bought Alibaba for 16 days, totaling 41.52389 billion HKD, while net selling Meituan for 4 days, totaling 2.70959 billion HKD [3] Group 2 - Alibaba and Baidu have started using self-designed chips to train their AI models, partially replacing chips produced by Nvidia. Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen has released the next-generation foundational model architecture Qwen3-Next and open-sourced the Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B series model based on this architecture [4] - Pop Mart has launched its first gold series products under its jewelry brand popop, with the most expensive item being a gold ornament weighing approximately 41 grams, priced over 56,000 RMB. The price of the gold series products will not fluctuate with gold prices but will vary based on craftsmanship, with prices per gram mainly concentrated between 1,300 to 1,700 RMB [4] - Yaojie Ankang's stock price has surged over 18 times since its IPO price of 13.15 HKD in less than three months. The company announced that its core product, Tengrutin combined with Fulvestrant, has received clinical implied approval from the National Medical Products Administration of China for a Phase II clinical trial for recurrent or metastatic breast cancer [4] Group 3 - Meituan is considering issuing dim sum bonds, with multiple investment banks gauging fixed-income investors' interest in potential offshore RMB bonds. Discussions are still in the preliminary stages regarding details such as term, scale, and issuance timing [5] - If successfully priced, this will be Meituan's first issuance of dim sum bonds. Meituan has a 750 million USD bond with a 2.125% coupon maturing on October 28. Last September, Meituan raised a total of 2.5 billion USD through the issuance of two USD bonds [6]

巨头们在本地生活这件烟火气的事上又"撞车"了。 近日，阿里巴巴(9988.HK)通过高德入局本地生活到店领域，启动"烟火好店支持计划"，通过发放超10 亿元补贴等措施，鼓励用户到店消费。很快，抖音生活服务业务宣布上线名字颇为相似的"烟火小店扶 持计划"，针对人均消费100元以内的商家，提供流量激励等资源。 而在一年前的本地生活战场里，这种"针尖对麦芒"的竞争发生在美团与抖音之间。2025年，阿里先后通 过外卖与到店，将本地生活打成一场巨头"混战"。 瑞银表示，高德本次升级反映本地生活服务的竞争格局已从即时零售延伸至到店业务，预计四季度竞争 焦点将从外卖转向非食品类即时零售及到店业务。摩根大通认为阿里此举将直接冲击美团到店这一"现 金牛"业务，并下调美团2026-2027年到店利润预期。 多位行业人士对第一财经记者表示，大厂补贴不是为了拉新，而是为了争夺用户心智，沉淀各自APP用 户停留时长，培养消费者在各APP下单习惯，进而将消费力逐步转移至利润更高的泛电商领域，挖掘电 商存量市场中的增长空间。作为当前本地生活领域的头部玩家，美团正面临竞争对手的"虎口夺食"，成 为主要冲击目标。 今日港股收盘，美团股价96. ...

Core Insights - The competition in the local life service sector has intensified, with Alibaba entering the market through Gaode and launching the "Smoke Fire Good Store Support Plan" with over 1 billion yuan in subsidies to encourage in-store consumption [1] - Douyin has also announced a similar initiative called the "Smoke Fire Small Store Support Plan," targeting merchants with an average consumption of under 100 yuan, providing traffic incentives and resources [1] - Analysts predict that the focus of competition will shift from food delivery to non-food instant retail and in-store services in the fourth quarter of 2025 [1] Company Strategies - Alibaba's investment in in-store services is driven by the higher profitability of this business and the need for an independent platform to support local life services, as Taobao cannot cover all scenarios [3] - Meituan has historically maintained its leading position through cash flow control and a strong ground team, but faces challenges from new entrants like Douyin and Alibaba [4] - Douyin's local life services achieved over 300 billion yuan in transaction volume in 2023, but faces challenges in user retention and service fulfillment [4][5] Market Dynamics - The local life service market is evolving into a duopoly between Meituan and Douyin, with Alibaba's re-entry pushing the industry into a new competitive phase [4] - The overall e-commerce market is experiencing slower growth, with traditional platforms like Alibaba and JD.com facing competition from content-driven e-commerce platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou [7][8] - The competition is not just about acquiring new users but also about cultivating user habits and increasing the time spent on respective apps, which can lead to higher-margin e-commerce transactions [1][8] Financial Performance - Meituan's stock has dropped 49.1% from its March high of 189.6 HKD to 96.55 HKD, while Alibaba's stock has risen 98.6% from a low of 76.073 HKD to 151.1 HKD, marking a four-year high [2] - Meituan reported revenue of 918.4 billion yuan and an adjusted net profit of 14.9 billion yuan in Q2 2025, while Douyin's e-commerce GMV is projected to reach 4.2 trillion yuan in 2025 [7]

Core Insights - The pre-sale of iPhone 17 has sparked a competitive battle between Meituan and Taobao, both launching their flash sale announcements simultaneously [1][10] - The term "first launch" has evolved from a traditional marketing tool to a strategic battleground, reflecting supply chain capabilities and user engagement in the context of instant retail [4][6] Group 1: Competitive Landscape - Meituan claims to "redefine the first launch," while Taobao asserts "full series launch," indicating a fierce competition for market share [4][10] - The competition is not merely about timing but also about establishing trust in delivery speed and reliability, which is crucial for future retail dominance [6][10] Group 2: Evolution of Retail Strategies - Instant retail is reshaping consumer expectations, with platforms focusing on high-frequency, high-value products like electronics and cosmetics [10][12] - Brands are increasingly integrating instant retail into their product launch strategies, viewing it as essential for reaching high-end consumers and enhancing brand perception [10][12] Group 3: Future Implications - The battle between Meituan and Taobao signifies a shift from a "shelf era" to a "speed era" in retail, where the focus is on delivery efficiency and consumer experience [12][13] - As logistics and delivery systems improve, instant retail platforms are expected to encroach further into traditional e-commerce territory, altering consumer shopping expectations [10][12]

Core Insights - Alibaba's Gaode Map launched the world's first user behavior-based ranking list, "Gaode Street Ranking," and initiated a "Good Store Support Plan" with over 1 billion yuan in subsidies to encourage offline consumption, aiming to bring 10 million customers daily to the service industry [1] - Meituan faces intensified competition in both its in-store and delivery services from new entrants like Gaode and established players like JD and Taobao [1][5] - Meituan's financial performance has been negatively impacted by the competition, with a significant drop in net profit and adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2025 [1][2] Delivery Competition - Meituan's revenue for the first half of 2025 was 91.84 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.7%, but net profit fell by 96.8% to 365 million yuan, and adjusted EBITDA decreased by 81.5% to 2.782 billion yuan [1] - The sales cost for Meituan rose by 27% to 61.4 billion yuan, with the proportion of sales costs in revenue increasing from 58.8% in Q2 2024 to 66.9% in Q2 2025 [2] - Sales and marketing expenses grew by 51.8% to 22.5 billion yuan, reflecting increased spending on promotions and user incentives due to fierce competition [2] Rider Welfare and Support - Meituan has expanded occupational injury insurance to all riders in 17 provinces and cities, with plans to roll out pension insurance subsidies nationwide by the end of 2025 [3] - Meituan's CEO reported that the company served 770 million users and connected 3.36 million riders monthly, with peak daily orders for instant retail exceeding 150 million [3] - JD has also enhanced rider benefits, including full insurance coverage and seasonal subsidies for riders during extreme weather [3][4] In-store Business Challenges - Gaode's entry into the in-store business poses a new challenge for Meituan, which relies on this segment for revenue growth amid increasing competition [5][6] - Gaode's Street Ranking covers over 7 million restaurant locations and has launched various behavior-based rankings, indicating a strong commitment to the in-store market [6][7] - Meituan's core local business revenue was 65.347 billion yuan in Q2 2025, a 7.7% year-on-year increase, but operating profit dropped by 75.6% [7]

Core Points - The article discusses the launch of Meituan's "Safe Consumption" series products aimed at addressing the issues of prepaid consumption and enhancing consumer confidence in various service industries [1][2][3] - Meituan's solutions include flexible payment options and refund guarantees for fitness, education, and other service sectors, significantly impacting consumer spending behavior [1][2][3] Group 1: Safe Consumption Products - Meituan introduced "Flexible Payment" and "Refund Guarantee" solutions in the fitness sector, allowing consumers to purchase short-term fitness cards and enjoy protection against business closures [2][3] - The "Safe Learning" product in the education sector enables consumers to pay per class, with a refund option if the service provider fails to deliver [3][4] - Over 35,000 stores in Beijing have joined the "Safe Consumption" initiative, with over 50% coverage in the fitness industry and over 40% in sports training [1][2] Group 2: Consumer Experience and Industry Impact - The introduction of these products has led to a significant increase in consumer spending, with a reported over 62% year-on-year growth in service consumption in Beijing [1][2] - Consumers have shared positive experiences regarding refunds and service guarantees, indicating a shift towards more flexible and secure payment models [3][4] - The trend shows a growing preference among younger consumers for short-term, flexible payment options, moving away from large upfront payments [3][4] Group 3: Support for Participating Merchants - Meituan provides various support measures for merchants participating in the "Safe Consumption" program, including online and offline traffic resources and platform subsidies [8] - The collaboration with SaaS service providers in the fitness and education sectors aims to enhance service quality and operational efficiency for merchants [6][8] - The initiative is expected to promote long-term industry development by shifting from high-volume sales to refined service management [6][8]