Get ready for some food delivery action， folks!
With free juices， 6-cent colas， and 4-yuan milk teas， the battle for food delivery dominance this past weekend was fierce. The author found themselves practically drowning in milk tea…
This skirmish between Meituan Waimai and Taobao’s Flash Purchase delivery services may have seemed quiet to onlookers， but it was an all-out war.
On Saturday evening， both platforms， as if by pre-arranged agreement， unleashed a torrent of discounts and promotions.
Taobao Flash Purchase offered one substantial 18.8 yuan red packet after another， while Meituan Waimai bombarded users with milk tea vouchers. The question on everyone’s mind was: how much longer could this spree last?
Users who managed to snag great deals shared their triumphs across various platforms and in group chats， eager to ensure their friends didn’t miss out on the “freebie” joy.
As a result， we witnessed the immense fervor of the users.
Some users managed to secure their weekly supply of milk tea and coffee. However， one can’t help but wonder if stockpiling such beverages is truly beneficial， or if the chase for deals might lead to unintended consequences.
One household， using four accounts， managed to purchase 350 eggs for just 25 yuan. Another user， with 30 yuan， effectively turned their home into a small convenience store.
Clever users even started stocking up on frozen dumplings， apparently preparing for their entire month’s meals. This aggressive purchasing behavior highlights the impact of deeply discounted prices on consumer habits.
Beyond the immense satisfaction of the users， this food delivery war also brought a significant surprise to both merchants and delivery riders.
The surprise for merchants was the sheer volume of orders， often overwhelming their capacity. The joy for delivery riders came from the increased earnings， incentivizing them to work even harder.
The author visited two popular tea shops， Tea Baidao and Guming， where staff reported that their internal ordering systems had crashed due to the surge. They struggled to match orders with customer information and pickup numbers， resorting to manually confirming each order with customers. This points to a potential strain on the technological infrastructure of smaller businesses during peak promotional periods.
Meanwhile， delivery riders， braving temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius in Hangzhou， were reportedly working at speeds several times higher than usual over the weekend.
According to reports from The Paper， the order volume over the weekend was “immeasurably deep，” with some riders claiming their hourly wages exceeded 100 yuan during peak times. The surge in demand has doubled delivery fees from the typical 6-7 yuan to over ten yuan per order， a rate that， if sustained， could easily lead to monthly incomes exceeding 10，000 yuan. This surge in earnings indicates a significant redistribution of value within the delivery ecosystem during promotional events.
Delivery riders’ equipment has even seen upgrades.
Witnessing this， the author felt a resurgence of the familiar intensity of past food delivery wars. The aggressive promotional strategies by both platforms have led to a significant increase in order volumes.
According to internal Meituan data， as of 10:54 PM on July 5th， the platform processed over 120 million orders for the day， with food delivery orders exceeding 100 million.
Early this morning， Taobao Flash Purchase and Ele.me jointly announced that orders on July 5th surpassed 80 million， with over 13 million being non-food items. Taobao Flash Purchase reported over 200 million daily active users.
Ironically， following this intense weekend battle， the stock prices of Alibaba， Meituan， and JD.com， the major players in the delivery war， all experienced varying degrees of decline. Furthermore， a closer look reveals that the stock performance of these three companies has been lackluster recently.
However， this is understandable. Business wars require significant financial investment， and short-term profitability inevitably takes a hit， leading to minor stock price dips. This phenomenon reflects the market’s reaction to the cost implications of aggressive market share acquisition.
Even more humorously， this morning saw a surge in the stock prices of milk tea companies. It appears the intense competition directly benefited related industries.
In fact， even some food and beverage sectors on the A-share market saw gains from this wave of promotions. This suggests a ripple effect of consumer spending， spilling over into adjacent markets.
However， as the saying goes， “You can’t refuse a gift，” and upon closer examination， it appears Taobao initiated this weekend’s confrontation.
On July 2nd， Taobao Flash Purchase launched its “anti-insourcing of promotional fees” campaign， announcing a commitment of 50 billion yuan to subsidize users and merchants this year.
Furthermore， according to “Old Zhang Talks Retail，” Alibaba had invited key merchants to Hangzhou for discussions as early as July 1st. During these meetings， July 5th was designated as a key order day， with the ambitious goal of surpassing Meituan in peak orders， projecting between 90 to 100 million orders. The strategy was to leverage the 50 billion yuan investment to achieve a parity with Meituan within two to three months.
As a competitor， Meituan was naturally privy to this intelligence and had prepared its response well in advance.
According to LatePost， Meituan initiated a large-scale internal mobilization to counter the formidable challenge from Taobao Flash Purchase， sounding a “charge” on the afternoon of the 5th. Ultimately， Meituan achieved its highest order volume to date， with internal sources suggesting that this was not their full potential. This indicates Meituan’s strategic approach to the competition， reserving some capacity for sustained engagement.
However， despite Meituan’s strong resistance， Taobao Flash Purchase managed to meet its objectives. While a temporary setback might seem daunting， the battle is far from over. Furthermore， in the author’s view， the differing “battle reports” from each company reveal distinct strategic priorities.
While both Taobao Flash Purchase and Meituan Waimai reported total order volumes around 100 million， with non-food orders around 20 million， Meituan’s public statements emphasized their primary focus on food delivery. In contrast， Taobao Flash Purchase highlighted their non-food delivery data. This distinction subtly sheds light on their respective roles in this competitive arena.
As the defender， Meituan naturally aims to project an image of continued dominance in the food delivery sector， thus prioritizing the promotion of food orders and issuing vouchers primarily for food items.
Conversely， Taobao Flash Purchase， as the aggressor， acknowledges its current position slightly behind Meituan in food delivery orders but has a broader objective. Alibaba’s entry into this market is not solely about capturing the everyday orders for meals， fruits， and milk tea. Their vision extends to integrating online shopping with instant retail， aiming to create a unified consumption ecosystem. This strategic focus is why they are offering various discount coupons across different categories and emphasizing non-food order data in their communications.
Interestingly， Alibaba internally codenamed this operation “Campaign of Huaihai.”
In the classic film “The Great Decisive Battle，” a well-known line about the Huaihai Campaign is: “600，000 versus 800，000， this is an undercooked meal. Even if it’s undercooked， we must eat it.”
This historical allusion suggests that Alibaba anticipated the significant challenges and complexities involved in this food delivery war.
The head-to-head competition between these two giants is likely to continue for some time.
However， to the disappointment of some netizens， JD.com， which initiated this round of instant retail competition， seemed to have a less prominent presence in this past weekend’s key battle.
Consequently， some online commentators have speculated that JD.com acted as a vanguard， with Taobao bearing the brunt of the main assault. While this observation might hold some truth， the author believes it’s premature to dismiss JD.com’s capabilities. It’s possible they are strategically positioning themselves for future engagements， perhaps “teleporting” into the main conflict when the time is right.
Regarding the eventual outcome of this food delivery war and the definition of victory， Goldman Sachs recently offered an interesting projection with three potential scenarios:
Meituan wins if it maintains its market share above 60%， similar to previous years， thereby retaining its dominant position.
Alibaba emerges victorious if its strategic maneuvers allow it to either match or surpass Meituan’s order volume， effectively capturing significant market share.
For JD.com， Goldman Sachs’ forecast aligns with its current standing; achieving over 20% of the order volume would be considered a win.
Currently， Taobao Flash Purchase and Meituan Waimai are engaged in a truly intense battle， where a decisive outcome is inevitable.
In conclusion， the author would like to add a few thoughts. For the past few years， many industries in China have felt established， with deep “moats” making it difficult for new players to disrupt the market. The food delivery sector was perceived similarly， with Meituan Waimai as the clear leader and Ele.me trailing， establishing a stable duopoly.
However， recent months have seen a dramatic shift. JD.com， starting from scratch， has captured over 20 million orders. Taobao Flash Purchase， previously overshadowed by Meituan， has tripled its order volume， forcing Meituan into a comprehensive mobilization. This clearly demonstrates that new entrants can indeed make significant waves in the industry.
This situation is akin to a lion pride. Once the dominant lion shows signs of weakness， other challengers emerge. The author refers to platforms like Douyin， Didi， and Baidu. If a few players can succeed in this market， why can’t others?
Similarly， in the ride-hailing and ride-sharing sectors， if Didi and Gaode can navigate these markets， why can’t Meituan and Douyin? This same dynamic extends to local lifestyle services， community group buying， express delivery， and online travel. The door is open for renewed competition in all these areas.
As long as there are challengers willing to engage， users will undoubtedly be eager participants， cheering them on.
