Latest news with #instantretail
CNA
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Alibaba to merge food delivery, travel agency platforms into core E-commerce business
Alibaba on Monday said it will merge its food delivery platform and online travel agency Fliggy into its core e-commerce business as the Chinese group streamlines operations amid intensifying competition. A prolonged property crisis and the economic fallout of the U.S.'s evolving trade policy have dampened spending appetite of Chinese shoppers. At the same time, Chinese e-commerce giants are engaged in a price war and have been aggressively expanding into "instant retail," which focuses on delivery times of just 30 to 60 minutes, to attract buyers. The company said the reorganization was a 'strategic upgrade' as it transitions from a traditional e-commerce company to a broader consumer-focused platform. "Moving forward, the company will increasingly optimize its business models and organizational structures from the user's perspective to create richer, higher-quality consumer experiences," it said.
CNA
26-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Chinese food delivery giant Meituan net profit up 46.2% in first quarter
SHANGHAI: China's leading food delivery group Meituan on Monday (May 26) reported net profit for the first quarter of 10.9 billion yuan (US$1.52 billion), up 46.2 per cent from 5.2 billion yuan in the same period a year ago. Meituan - which operates an app providing services as varied as bike-sharing, ticket-booking and maps - reported revenue in the three months to Mar 31 of 86.6 billion yuan (US$12.1 billion), compared to 73.3 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier. That represents a slightly larger-than-expected 18.1 per cent rise as it targeted cost-conscious Chinese consumers with value-for-money products and services. Fourteen analysts polled by LSEG had expected a 16.5 per cent revenue gain. This year has seen e-commerce giants jostle for position in the burgeoning "instant retail" sector, which refers to online purchases delivered within 60 minutes. In February, online retailer responded to Meituan's moves to expand beyond meals the product categories it delivers within the hour by moving aggressively into Meituan's core food delivery business. Alibaba, which operates the second-largest food delivery app, has also moved to increase its bets on the instant retail space. Meituan has nearly 70 per cent of the delivery market, Morningstar analysts said. Defending that customer base could prove expensive amid the intensifying competition, squeezing profit margins, they said. Another challenge could come from regulators, with China's State Administration for Market Regulation recently drafting new guidelines about how platforms such as Meituan, and Alibaba should charge fees to merchants. Meituan's revenue from core local commerce, which includes food delivery and non-food delivery service Meituan Instashopping, rose 17.8 per cent to 64.3 billion yuan.
CNA
26-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Alibaba's new 'instant commerce' portal passes 40 million daily orders
SHANGHAI :Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Monday that its Taobao Instant Commerce portal, which delivers items within 60 minutes, has surpassed 40 million daily orders within a month of launching. The portal brings merchants from Alibaba's food delivery arm onto its main domestic shopping app, Taobao, and is part of a broader move among Chinese online platforms in recent months to invest billions in so-called "instant retail".
Malay Mail
13-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Speed wars: Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba, JD.com splash billions on 30-minute delivery race
SHANGHAI, May 13 — Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and have opened a new front in the ongoing battle for market share, with both expanding aggressively into so-called instant retail centred around delivery speeds of 30 to 60 minutes this year. Investors will be dissecting the strategy when reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday and Alibaba on Thursday, as finding new avenues for growth has proven challenging for China's largest online retailers. Their market penetration is already high and prices for goods are under pressure due to a consumer slowdown driven by concerns about employment and wages as well as a prolonged property market downturn. The new turf war focused on speed is coming at a high cost in the short term as the e-commerce giants look to entice consumers with hefty discounts. JD Takeaway and Alibaba's food delivery app last month each pledged 10 billion yuan (RM5.97 billion) in subsidies. JD Takeaway said it would invest the sum over a year, while did not disclose the timeframe. 'The competition is so intense, there's not a lot of incremental growth opportunities, so everybody is moving into everybody else's territories and instant retail is the latest example of that,' said Jason Yu, general manager at CTR Market Research. China's food delivery market leader Meituan has moved to grow its business by expanding its instashopping platform, which delivers non-food goods within 30 minutes and announced its entry into food delivery in February. 'In the past people would go to to buy a mobile phone and they would deliver to you in the same day, then suddenly they could go to Meituan and have the new Apple iPhone delivered within 30 minutes. That posed a direct threat to and they moved into food delivery in response,' Yu said. At the end of April, Alibaba expanded its instant shopping portal on its domestic e-commerce app Taobao. That gave users access to restaurants, coffee shops and bubble tea chains available on Alibaba's — China's second-largest food delivery player behind Meituan — plus many other categories including pet food and apparel. Alibaba, and Meituan did not respond to requests for comment. The Alibaba logo is seen in this illustration taken on January 29, 2025. — Reuters pic Subsidised spending on instant retail from Alibaba and is being welcomed by cost-conscious consumers. Users on JD Takeaway currently enjoy discounts of up to 20 yuan, or US$2.77, per day for deliveries from restaurants including McDonald's, Haidilao and Burger King. On Taobao's instant shopping portal, consumers can receive a discount of 11 yuan on a bill of at least 15 yuan. Liu Qi, 24, a small business owner in Tianjin, said he was pleased when he recently bought a coconut latte on JD Takeaway for only 5.9 yuan. 'I asked the deliveryman and he said he makes 4 yuan per delivery, so essentially, bought me a cup of coffee and delivered it to my door,' Liu said. He was even more surprised days later when he bought a coffee on Taobao's instant shopping portal for only 3.9 yuan. 'It was 2 yuan cheaper than he said. War chests While subsidising consumer discounts for instant retail is expensive, China's e-commerce giants have significant cash reserves. As of December 31, Alibaba, and Meituan had net cash positions of 400 billion, 144 billion and 110 billion yuan respectively, according to Morningstar analysts. And despite the low margins inherent in the business, a renewed focus on instant retail made sense for and Alibaba in part because both firms have armies of couriers already at their disposal, analysts said. That means there is no need for an expensive build-out of delivery infrastructure as would be required for other potential entrants like Temu-owner PDD Holdings. Beijing-based independent industry analyst Liu Xingliang said Alibaba and were leveraging high-frequency demand for food, coffee and bubble tea to boost lower-frequency demand for clothing, electronics and other higher-margin purchases — betting that if consumers open their apps more often, they might buy more overall. For the expansion into instant retail was particularly important given its traditional e-commerce business appeared to have hit a ceiling, he said. 'It must try to gain market share in new business areas.' — Reuters
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Chinese e-commerce giants make expensive bets on fast deliveries
SHANGHAI, May 13 (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba ( opens new tab and ( opens new tab have opened a new front in the ongoing battle for market share, with both expanding aggressively into so-called instant retail centred around delivery speeds of 30 to 60 minutes this year. Investors will be dissecting the strategy when reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday and Alibaba on Thursday, as finding new avenues for growth has proven challenging for China's largest online retailers. Their market penetration is already high and prices for goods are under pressure due to a consumer slowdown driven by concerns about employment and wages as well as a prolonged property market downturn. The new turf war focused on speed is coming at a high cost in the short term as the e-commerce giants look to entice consumers with hefty discounts. JD Takeaway and Alibaba's food delivery app last month each pledged 10 billion yuan ($1.38 billion) in subsidies. JD Takeaway said it would invest the sum over a year, while did not disclose the timeframe. "The competition is so intense, there's not a lot of incremental growth opportunities, so everybody is moving into everybody else's territories and instant retail is the latest example of that," said Jason Yu, general manager at CTR Market Research. China's food delivery market leader Meituan ( opens new tab has moved to grow its business by expanding its instashopping platform, which delivers non-food goods within 30 minutes and announced its entry into food delivery in February. "In the past people would go to to buy a mobile phone and they would deliver to you in the same day, then suddenly they could go to Meituan and have the new Apple iPhone delivered within 30 minutes. That posed a direct threat to and they moved into food delivery in response," Yu said. At the end of April, Alibaba expanded its instant shopping portal on its domestic e-commerce app Taobao. That gave users access to restaurants, coffee shops and bubble tea chains available on Alibaba's - China's second-largest food delivery player behind Meituan - plus many other categories including pet food and apparel. Alibaba, and Meituan did not respond to requests for comment. Subsidised spending on instant retail from Alibaba and is being welcomed by cost-conscious consumers. Users on JD Takeaway currently enjoy discounts of up to 20 yuan, or $2.77, per day for deliveries from restaurants including McDonald's, Haidilao and Burger King. On Taobao's instant shopping portal, consumers can receive a discount of 11 yuan on a bill of at least 15 yuan. Liu Qi, 24, a small business owner in Tianjin, said he was pleased when he recently bought a coconut latte on JD Takeaway for only 5.9 yuan. "I asked the deliveryman and he said he makes 4 yuan per delivery, so essentially, bought me a cup of coffee and delivered it to my door," Liu said. He was even more surprised days later when he bought a coffee on Taobao's instant shopping portal for only 3.9 yuan. "It was 2 yuan cheaper than he said. While subsidising consumer discounts for instant retail is expensive, China's e-commerce giants have significant cash reserves. As of December 31, Alibaba, and Meituan had net cash positions of 400 billion, 144 billion and 110 billion yuan respectively, according to Morningstar analysts. And despite the low margins inherent in the business, a renewed focus on instant retail made sense for and Alibaba in part because both firms have armies of couriers already at their disposal, analysts said. That means there is no need for an expensive build-out of delivery infrastructure as would be required for other potential entrants like Temu-owner PDD Holdings (PDD.O), opens new tab. Beijing-based independent industry analyst Liu Xingliang said Alibaba and were leveraging high-frequency demand for food, coffee and bubble tea to boost lower-frequency demand for clothing, electronics and other higher-margin purchases - betting that if consumers open their apps more often, they might buy more overall. For the expansion into instant retail was particularly important given its traditional e-commerce business appeared to have hit a ceiling, he said. "It must try to gain market share in new business areas." ($1 = 7.2194 Chinese yuan renminbi)
