为外卖行业划定合规竞争“红线”

Core Viewpoint - The essence of the food delivery industry is service rather than capital games, and the industry will mature when rules replace chaos and responsibility outweighs scale [1]. Group 1: Regulatory Changes - On September 24, the State Administration for Market Regulation released a draft for public consultation on the basic requirements for food delivery platform services, marking the end of over a decade of "land grab" in China's food delivery industry and the beginning of a new phase focused on compliance, responsibility, and sustainability [2]. - The new regulations aim to address issues such as platform fee transparency, merchant profit calculations, and the forced sharing of promotional costs, thereby preventing platforms from shifting costs onto merchants [3]. Group 2: Merchant and Rider Protections - The new regulations strengthen the merchant entry review process, requiring real certificates and on-site store information, and introducing video verification to eliminate "ghost deliveries," thus protecting food safety and supporting compliant small merchants [4]. - A new mechanism for order control will be implemented to monitor merchant load and alert consumers when merchants are busy, establishing a buffer between merchant capacity, consumer experience, and platform responsibility [4]. - The regulations also provide systematic protections for riders, including limits on continuous order acceptance and ensuring compensation matches task intensity, marking a shift from an "efficiency-first" algorithm to one that balances safety and fairness [4]. Group 3: Future Industry Outlook - The previous model of burning cash for market share is no longer sustainable; future competition will focus on refined operations, algorithm ethics, and balancing the interests of all parties involved [5]. - The new regulations are not constraints but rather a starting signal for a new competitive landscape, emphasizing that the essence of food delivery is service, and the industry will mature when rules replace chaos and responsibility outweighs scale [5].