华尔街见闻·2025-07-06 12:16Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the intense competition in the instant retail and food delivery market among Alibaba, Meituan, and JD.com, highlighting significant financial investments and strategic maneuvers by these companies to capture market share and user engagement [6][10][14]. Group 1: Competitive Landscape - On July 5, Alibaba and Meituan engaged in a fierce price war, offering substantial discounts and coupons to attract users, leading to a surge in orders on both platforms [1][3]. - Meituan reported over 1.2 billion orders on July 5, with more than 1 billion being food delivery orders, indicating the high demand generated by the promotions [3]. - Alibaba announced a 500 billion yuan subsidy for its Taobao Flash Purchase service, aiming to disrupt Meituan's dominance in the food delivery sector [4][10]. Group 2: Financial Implications - Goldman Sachs predicts that the competition will pressure short-term profitability, estimating losses of 410 billion yuan for Alibaba's food delivery business and 260 billion yuan for JD.com, while Meituan's EBIT profit may decline by 250 billion yuan [12][14]. - The three companies are expected to invest a total of over 1 trillion yuan in this competitive landscape, with the goal of reshaping market dynamics and expanding into instant retail [14][32]. Group 3: Strategic Moves - Meituan has shifted its focus to instant retail, announcing a strategic adjustment to enhance its "Little Elephant Supermarket" initiative while scaling back on community group buying [21][23]. - Alibaba's integration of Ele.me into the Taotian Group signifies a broader strategy that extends beyond food delivery to encompass instant retail [19][17]. - JD.com is preparing to launch a new business model in the food delivery sector, aiming to differentiate itself from Meituan [27]. Group 4: Market Dynamics - The competition is characterized as a long-term war, with the potential for significant shifts in market share among the three giants [26][29]. - The article emphasizes the importance of user engagement and the battle for daily active users (DAU) as critical factors in determining the outcome of this competition [31][32]. - The potential outcomes of the competition include scenarios where Meituan maintains its market share, Alibaba gains significant ground, or JD.com captures a notable portion of the market [33][34][35].