The "subsidy war" that each platform claims to have accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars is encountering regulatory intervention. On July 18, the State Administration for Market Regulation interviewed three companies, Ele.me, Meituan, and JD.com, and explicitly requested them to stop irrational competitive behaviors. Jia Guolong, the founder of Xibei, a well-known catering company, made a public appeal on July 19, asking the platform to "return pricing power to merchants."

A reporter from "Kechuangban Daily" noticed that some platforms are still providing "high coupon" subsidies.

▍Some platforms still provide “high-value coupons”

It is understood that the subsidy war has driven the platform’s order volume to increase significantly. The battle reports released by Meituan on two consecutive Saturdays recently showed that the average daily order volume reached 120 million and 150 million orders respectively, reaching a record high. In the past two weeks of working days, the daily subsidy amount for Taobao’s flash sales has stabilized at around 400 million yuan.

Although regulators have intervened, the subsidy war for takeaway and instant retail platforms has only cooled down to a limited extent.

A reporter from "Kechuangban Daily" searched various platforms and found that,On July 19, Meituan’s flash sale still pushed disguised subsidies such as “food redemption coupons” and “afternoon tea redemption coupons” to users; Taobao flash sale channel’s high-intensity full discount activities such as “18 off for purchases over 25” and “16 off for purchases over 16” were prominently listed; JD.com’s instant delivery has not left the show, and continues to provide large discounts such as “18 off for purchases over 20” and “12 off for purchases over 20”.




The platform subsidy strategy seems to be showing signs of "reshaping", but the actual profit concession has not been significantly weakened, and the regulatory effect remains to be seen.

An e-commerce platform researcher told a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that the "subsidy war" may only bring short-term "prosperity" to some merchants, and the long-term healthy development of the industry is the key.

▍The survival situation of merchants is “differentiated”

"Kechuangban Daily" reporters conducted first-line visits to businesses on the streets of Shanghai.

Some merchants have indeed increased sales during this takeout subsidy war, and merchants supported by the platform's "extremely large coupons" have seen a surge in short-term sales. A clerk at Kudi Coffee told reporters: "There are usually two subsidy days (one day in the middle of the week or on the weekend). On subsidy days, the sales volume can reach about 300 cups, while on non-subsidy days, the sales volume is only about 100 cups."

But at the same time, sales of merchants without strong support have barely fluctuated, but profits continue to be squeezed. The clerks at Mo Yogurt and Linli Handmade Lemon Tea both said that “there is a small difference in sales volume before and after the subsidy day, but the overall change is not big.” Naixue’s tea clerk also said: “Since the takeout war, the difference between the order amount on weekends and weekdays is about 3,000 yuan, and the fluctuation range is basically the same as before.”

According to multiple merchants, a certain chain catering brand’s order volume surged by 300% on the first day of the subsidy campaign, but the unit price dropped by 20-40%. After excluding platform commissions and ingredient costs, the profit margin dropped by 10%. Backstage data displayed by the owner of a Japanese food store showed that 90% of orders during the event relied on large subsidies of more than 50 yuan. Once the subsidy was reduced, the repurchase rate plummeted by 80%.

The above-mentioned researcher said that the fragmented pattern has exacerbated the ecological vulnerability of businesses.