Meituan Dianping aka China’s Ubereats is its largest on-demand food delivery firm that also offered bike sharing and ride hailing services initially. The app successfully managed to raise $4.2 billion earlier this year through its initial public offering in Hong Kong.
Meituan currently has about 340 million active users who are able to use the platform to order meals, book hotel rooms and arrange various forms of transport. It combines a range of services with similarities to Groupon, Yelp and UberEats through the 4.7 million merchants that have joined the platform, which in turn allows Meituan to earn its revenue through commissions and delivery fees.
Why Did Meituan Decide To Ditch Bike Sharing & Ride hailing?
In April, Meituan tried to break into the bike-sharing fray that was initially dominated by DiDi Chuxing prior to the passenger murders. It also managed to face off Alibaba-backed Ofo. Over the past few years, Mobike and Ofo were burning through large sums of investor money in a bid to win users from subsidized rider, but both have shown signs of slowing down their ride games.
Overcrowded With Competitors
Mobike is downsizing its fleets to “avoid an oversupply” as the bike-sharing market falters, Meituan’s chief financial officer – Chen Shaohui said during the earning call. Ofo has also scaled back by closing down most of its international operations.
Meituan stated that it has no plans to expand car-hailing beyond its two piloting cities – Shanghai and Nanjing – after venturing into the field to take on DiDi Chuxing last December.
Revenue From Food Delivery Services?
Meituan’s major source of income is from the food delivery business that accounted for 62% of its revenues in 2017. Meituan’s competitors are going all out to lure consumers away with steep discounts in what has effectively become a race to the bottom. Alibaba’s food-delivery unit – Ele.me has set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for cheaper meal access. The ride-sharing giant DiDi Chuxing is also expanding its food-delivery service known as DiDi Foodie, which is now available in four Chinese cities since its beta-launch in April.
Scope For The Food Delivery Market In China
Aside from fending off heavy competition, Meituan also has to spend to attract new users. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the food-delivery market only accounts for less than 10% of China’s total dining market. To grow the market further and get more people to use its app, Meituan has been subsidizing meal purchases so that consumers have greater incentives to go order online.
Route For The Future?
Meituan’s latest filing says that it is currently focused on “expanding our customer base, satisfying unmet customer needs and enhancing our network, rather than prioritizing monetization now.” A spokesperson said that the company has no comment on the pricing of its shares and the investments from Li and Lau.
FAQs
Meituan had 6.24 million food delivery riders and over 9.3 million merchants on its platform as of the end of 2022, according to the company.
Why is Meituan so successful? ›
In addition to cross-selling and product diversification, Meituan-Dianping's success can be attributed to its focus on operational efficiency, technology innovation, and its ability to adapt to evolving market demands.
What is the Chinese version of Uber eats? ›
Meituan Dianping aka China's Ubereats is its largest on-demand food delivery firm that also offered bike sharing and ride hailing services initially.
What is Meituan takeaway? ›
Meituan (also known as Meituan-Dianping) is a "local life" service platform best-known for its on-demand food delivery service.
Why is Meituan falling? ›
Hong Kong-based Blue Lotus Research Institute said the fall in Meituan shares was because of reports that suggested ByteDance could buy Ele.me. Ele.me and Douyin joined hands in August 2022 to allow the food delivery firm's merchants to reach users of the short-video app.
What is the English name for Meituan? ›
Meituan (Chinese: 美团; pinyin: Měituán, literally "beautiful group"; formerly Meituan–Dianping, literally "beautiful group–reviews") is a Chinese shopping platform for locally found consumer products and retail services including entertainment, dining, delivery, travel and other services.
Who are Meituan competitors in China? ›
Top 9 competitors of Meituan, ranked by Tracxn score:
- Dianping. Group buying discount deals platform. ...
- Lashou. Location based daily-deals & group buying portal. ...
- Nuomi. Group buying website. ...
- Gaopeng. ...
- 24quan. ...
- uBuyiBuy.com. ...
- Manzuo. ...
- FTuan.
In 2023, Meituan generated about 276.7 billion yuan in revenue, a significant increase from just four billion in 2015. As of 2023, Meituan ranked seventh globally among internet companies in market capitalization.
How many employees does Meituan have? ›
In 2022, the number of employees of the company Meituan decreased by 8.1 thousand persons (-8.1 percent) since 2021. In total, the number of employees declined to 91.93 thousand persons in 2022.
Why did Uber fail in China? ›
One of the biggest reasons for Uber's failure in China was its inability to navigate local regulations and market conditions. Chinese regulators placed significant barriers to entry for foreign ride-sharing companies, including requirements for local partnerships, data storage, and pricing structures.
Whether you are a foreigner living in China or a tourist visiting the country, this article will help you fully utilize Meituan and Eleme to conveniently order food without worrying about the language barrier. 1. Click on 登录/注册 Dēnglù/zhùcè (log in/register).
Who is Uber Eats main competitor? ›
The best overall Uber Eats for Merchants alternative is GrubHub for Restaurants. Other similar apps like Uber Eats for Merchants are DoorDash for Merchants, ChowNow for Restaurants, Deliveroo for Partners, and Zomato for Restaurants.
Who are the largest shareholders of Meituan? ›
Top Shareholders
BlackRock, Inc. The Vanguard Group, Inc. Baillie Gifford & Co. E Fund Management Co., Ltd.
What is the Dianping app? ›
Dianping is similar to Yelp and Tripadvisors, where people can also rate and review local businesses.
Where is Meituan located? ›
Meituan was founded in 2010 and operates in Beijing , China.
How many users does Meituan have? ›
In 2022, China's leading local service provider Meituan had approximately 678 million transacting users, decreasing slightly from 690.5 million in 2021.
What is the market share of Meituan? ›
Meituan remains China's biggest delivery platform, with a 69% share of the 1 trillion yuan market, according to data from researcher ChinaIRN.
