JD.com, one of China’s leading e-commerce platforms, has recently announced a substantial investment of 10 billion yuan as part of its “Double Hundred Plan.” This campaign is a part of that effort, providing additional, focused support for merchants on the platform. In particular, it supports them in making the leap into the takeout/delivery dining sector. That’s no small feat given the cutthroat environment led by incumbents like Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me.
The move into the food delivery space, which started in February, is a big departure from the company’s initial business model. This expansion has drawn the attention of China’s top market regulator, which summoned JD.com, Meituan, and Alibaba’s Ele.me in May. The regulator called on firms to play by the rules of law and fair competition. In their dismissal talking points, the FTC criticized anti-competitive market practices taking place within the rapidly expanding instant commerce industry.
In a high-profile publicity stunt, JD.com’s founder, Richard Liu, was snapped on cameras making food deliveries himself in Beijing. No wonder this event drew such huge media attention. Simultaneously, the company made a big push to hire full-time drivers in order to increase delivery capacity. JD.com employs a long-term loss-leading marketing strategy to drive its rapid growth. Trouble lies ahead, as LSEG polled economists forecast for the company’s profit to drop in Q2 of 2025 from both a year ago and Q1 2025.
Retail e-commerce marketplace JD.com accelerated to an impressive 11.7 billion yuan operating profit for the three months ended March 31, 2025. This figure marks an astounding 31.4% jump from FY22. As analysts have warned, JD.com’s new move into food delivery is likely to lead to big losses. Nomura’s analysis paints a stark picture of that loss. It calculates that the company’s food delivery business could have lost more than 10 billion yuan in the second quarter alone.
Meituan has carved out a strong defensive moat to insulate itself in the highly competitive space. The company posted record earnings of 10.2 billion yuan for Q1 2025. This represents an incredible year-over-year increase of nearly 63%. Meituan has introduced innovative marketing techniques, such as deep discounts and coupons that render products practically free. For instance, patrons can pick up a cup of coffee for as little as 2 yuan (roughly $0.28) or enjoy a plate of steamed buns for merely 13 yuan.
In addition, recently in April Meituan released a new 24/7 “flash shopping” environment, with delivery times of less than 30 minutes pledged. The platform’s success was never as blinding as when it defaulted to success on an epic scale, obliterating its own records with 120 million orders on a single day. This unprecedented demand led to momentary server crashes in certain regions.
Stock prices of Meituan and JD.com have both plunged this year. According to LSEG data, Meituan’s shares have fallen by approximately 22%, while JD.com’s shares have decreased by about 10%. These companies provide a case study of the intense competition that typifies the broader trends in China’s instant commerce industry. Breakneck expansion drives this competition, even as both companies are under a fierce regulatory microscope.
JD.com has been undeniably proactive in steering through the current austere environment. Its smart investments and nimble operations will make all the difference in consistently winning in the takeout dining market. The company’s ability to balance aggressive growth with regulatory compliance will determine its position against formidable competitors like Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me.