Alibaba Group Holding tied its own record of 80 million on-demand deliveries on Saturday, the e-commerce giant reported on Monday, as it wages an all-out battle against rivals Meituan and JD.com in China’s quick-delivery market – with freebies and eye-popping discounts as the ammunition.
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Alibaba’s new instant commerce brand Taobao Shangou said its daily active users last week jumped 15 per cent from the previous week, which would put number at around 230 million, though the company did not specify the total. The firm also hit 80 million deliveries on July 5. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Meituan, Taobao, Ele.me and JD.com showered consumers with cash subsidies on Saturday in a spectacular and nationwide campaign that could change the face of shopping in China. By literally giving away products such as milk tea to woo consumers, many stores found themselves so flooded with online orders that they had to suspend walk-in service, upending traditional business models.
Meituan rolled out coupons offering milk tea for 0 yuan, while Taobao’s flash sale provided coupons worth 188 yuan (US$26) that consumers could use for goods such as low-priced milk tea and breakfast every Saturday. It also offered surprise coupons, such as one offering 18.80 yuan off on purchases above 18.80 yuan.
JD.com said on Friday that it would offer 100,000 servings of crayfish every night at a fixed price of 16.18 yuan from 6pm until 2am. The platform’s instant retail order volume shot up to a new high of 150 million orders on Saturday.
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Gleeful consumers rushed to take advantage of the promotions. Many shared tips on how to buy multiple drinks to share with friends.
Huang Yuxiang, a 22-year-old engineer, used a coupon to buy a cup of Luckin Coffee for 0 yuan this weekend via Taobao.