The food delivery industry once again welcomes a new player, this time JD.com. In order to create differentiation, JD.com has launched the slogans of "quality delivery" and "zero commission", hoping to attract more quality merchants to settle in.
Text | Sina Technology Zhang Jun
Prior to this, Didi and Douyin had also entered the food delivery market, but they did not have a substantial impact on Meituan’s market position. Internet analysts said that due to the needs of business growth, JD.com needs to find new growth points in logistics and distribution, so it has launched a zero-commission takeout model. But for merchants, in addition to commissions, they are more concerned about the number of orders.
Compared with actual measurements, JD.com’s takeaway shipping costs are a bit expensive
It is worth noting that compared with previous rounds of food delivery wars, this time JD.com’s food delivery may disappoint users who hope to make a profit.
Sina Technology saw on the JD App that JD Takeout is positioned as "quality takeout" in the instant delivery column, which also means that JD Takeout will not engage in price wars on the user side. Merchants online on JD.com are mainly chain brands, such as Big Pizza, Luckin Coffee, Ziyan Baiwei Chicken, Zhang Liang Malatang, etc.
However, compared with Meituan and Ele.me, the number of merchants currently online on JD.com is not large. This aspect is related to JD.com's positioning of food delivery - focusing on safety and quality. In previous merchant recruitment announcements, JD.com stated that in order to better meet consumers' pursuit of "food safety and quality takeout", recruitment is limited to "quality dine-in restaurants"; on the other hand, JD.com has not been online for a long time, and its awareness among merchants is still relatively limited.
In order to compete for merchants, JD.com also launched a zero commission slogan this time. JD.com said that merchants who settle in before May 1, 2025 will be commission-free for the whole year. JD.com will provide all-round support to settled merchants to help merchants benefit and jointly promote the healthy and sustainable development of the food delivery industry.
0 commission is indeed attractive to merchants. Compared with the commission ratios of Meituan, Ele.me and other food delivery platforms, this means that JD.com’s food delivery merchants can have more profit margins. However, it is worth noting that there is a time limit for 0 commission. There is only a time window of about three months. It is still unknown how many merchants this can attract.
In addition, some netizens who have experienced JD Takeaway believe that although JD Takeaway offers zero commission to merchants, the price on the user side is not cheap, especially the shipping fee, which is higher than other platforms.
Sina Technology’s actual measurement found that this is indeed the case. Taking a certain location in Beijing as an example, the delivery of drunken noodles on JD.com starts at 0 yuan, and the shipping fee is 3.5 yuan. The delivery of Big Pizza starts at 20 yuan, and the shipping fee is also 3.5 yuan; while the drunken noodles on Meituan Takeaway start at 20 yuan, and the delivery fee is free; the delivery of Big Pizza starts at 20 yuan, and the delivery fee is 3 yuan.
Overall, in the case of the same store, the average shipping cost on JD.com is relatively higher, which ultimately leads to higher prices on the user side.
Can it disrupt the takeout market?
In fact, news of JD.com’s entry into the food delivery industry has long been known.
In June 2022, it was revealed that JD.com would enter the food delivery industry. Xin Lijun, then CEO of JD.com Retail, said in an interview with the media that JD.com was studying the possibility of entering the food delivery field. "As for when we start doing that, it will depend on our capabilities and when we can build a team of talent."
Of course, JD.com also has its own resource advantages, such as transportation capacity resources. In May 2024, Dada Group announced that its business would be fully integrated into the JD ecosystem. The original instant retail brands JD Hourly Delivery and JD Home Delivery would be fully integrated and upgraded into "JD Instant Delivery"; in September 2024, JD purchased 9.3% of Dada's equity from Walmart, raising its shareholding ratio to 63%; in January this year, JD announced that it planned to privatize Dada Group to further integrate resources.
Previously, Douyin has also made a high-profile entry into the food delivery industry, but it is generally believed that Douyin has shortcomings in transportation capacity, which is related to delivery time and user experience. Douyin Waimai relies on third-party delivery platforms such as SF Express, Shanshuo and Dada to provide fulfillment services. Meituan and Ele.me both have their own huge transportation capacity systems; JD.com Waimai has no major shortcomings in contract fulfillment through deep integration of Dada's transportation capacity.
It is worth noting that there have been rumors that JD.com may continue the way JD Express pays social security to couriers and pay social security to riders. At present, this statement may not be accurate. Many Dada riders said on the Internet that they "have not heard of it" and "it is unlikely."
For JD.com, the key is to attract the resources of catering merchants and build the mentality of users. Merchants, transportation capacity, and users are all three major food delivery chains that are indispensable.
According to the latest data released by the China Internet Network Information Center, as of 2024, the number of online takeout users in my country has reached 545 million, accounting for about 50% of the total Internet users. Food delivery is undoubtedly a high-frequency business and a huge traffic entrance; but at the same time, food delivery is also an industry with high barriers and oligopoly. Meituan and Ele.me occupy the vast majority of the market share. The former Baidu Waimai, Didi Waimai and Douyin Waimai have either disappeared or have little market presence.
It remains to be seen whether JD.com's takeout can carve out a path in the duopoly market this time, relying on its differentiated positioning of "quality takeout" and its "0 commission" model.