Hu Xiu·2025-04-27 23:02Core Insights - JD.com, led by founder Liu Qiangdong, is aggressively entering the food delivery market, signaling a significant shift in strategy to compete with Meituan and Ele.me [1][3][4] - Meituan's response to JD.com's entry has been relatively calm, with CEO Wang Xing focusing on AI and other future technologies rather than forming a dedicated team to counter JD's food delivery initiative [2][3] - JD.com has seen rapid growth in its food delivery service, reaching a peak daily order volume of over 10 million, but still lags behind Meituan's daily average of 70-80 million orders [3][4] JD.com's Strategy - Liu Qiangdong has committed significant resources to the food delivery business, emphasizing long-term market share and brand reputation over short-term profits [1][3] - JD.com plans to hire 100,000 full-time delivery riders in the next three months to support its food delivery operations [3][4] - The company views food delivery as a critical component of its broader instant retail strategy, aiming to enhance user engagement and shopping frequency [5][6] Meituan's Position - Meituan has completed a restructuring of its food delivery and instant retail businesses, consolidating them under a new leadership structure [2][3] - Despite JD.com's aggressive entry, Meituan has not formed a specific task force to address the competition, indicating confidence in its existing market position [2][3] - Meituan's daily order volume remains significantly higher than JD.com's, with a market share of approximately 95% when combined with Ele.me [3][4] Market Dynamics - The competition between JD.com and Meituan is not just about food delivery but is part of a larger battle for dominance in the instant retail sector [5][6] - Both companies are focusing on increasing user consumption frequency and expanding their service offerings to capture a larger share of the market [8][9] - The ongoing competition is characterized by a struggle for user engagement across various consumption scenarios, with both platforms enhancing their product offerings [9][10] Financial Performance - JD.com's GAAP profit margin has improved significantly, reaching 3.6% in 2024, attributed to the growth in instant retail orders [6][7] - Meituan has also seen a rise in its profit margin, reaching 10.6% in 2024, driven by the scale effects of its instant retail business [6][7] - Both companies are leveraging their respective strengths—JD.com with its logistics and supply chain, and Meituan with its extensive merchant network and delivery algorithms—to maintain competitive advantages [11][12]