700 Orders per Hour, Even 0-Yuan Coupons... Who Benefited from China's Platform War?

Even 0-Yuan Milk Tea Coupons Distributed

Due to the intense discount competition among China's leading food delivery platforms, these platforms have broken sales records, and riders have earned higher-than-usual amounts. However, merchants who were not informed about the discount coupons have not been able to fully enjoy the influx of customers.

According to Chinese media reports on July 7, on the evening of July 5, Alibaba and Meituan distributed a large number of discount coupons, such as 24% off for those aged 25 and above, 15% off for those aged 15 and above, and 18% off for purchases by those aged 22 and above. Meituan also collaborated with a milk tea brand to offer 0-yuan milk tea coupons.

Photo to aid understanding of the article. Pixabay.

Shangyou News reported, "A beverage festival broke out due to the platform war, and for a while, the application (app) was paralyzed," adding that Meituan's sales reached an all-time high that day. According to Meituan, as of the evening of July 5, the platform recorded 120 million delivery orders. Last summer, Meituan's highest order volume was about 90 million.

Supermarkets and restaurants were also crowded with people waiting for online pickups. Riders lined up to pick up orders. At one cafe, staff said they made over 500 cups of coffee in a day, telling Shangyou News, "That's more than double the usual 200 cups a day."

Coupon discounted on delivery. Baidu.

The riders' earnings also increased significantly. Delivery worker Mr. Xiao said he earned more than 1,000 yuan (about 190,000 won) above his usual amount. Mr. Yan said he handled 127 orders in a day and earned 1,700 yuan (about 324,000 won), expressing his delight. Another rider reported a daily income of 1,000 yuan and posted his earnings on social media. His usual daily income was around 80 yuan (about 10,500 won), 180 yuan (about 34,000 won), or 450 yuan (about 85,000 won). He said, "It took me 6 hours and 30 minutes to earn 1,000 yuan, and I completed a total of 36 orders."

Another rider posted on social media that he received 300 orders in one hour but could not handle them all. He said, "There was no one in the store to make the drinks, so delivery was not easy," and added, "Customers were urging me, but the store said there was nothing they could do either."

However, merchants are facing difficulties. Due to the massive subsidies from the platforms and the severe surge in orders, some merchants have voiced their struggles. An employee at one store said, "This event was not notified to merchants, so they had to bear part of the cost of free orders, often paying 2 to 3 yuan per order."

One netizen posted on social media that there was a milk tea shop downstairs from his home, and over 700 people were lined up. He ordered at 8:30 p.m. and went downstairs to pick up his order after 10 p.m., but the line had not gotten any shorter. A cafe employee said, "Customers were angry, and the orders kept coming in, so I cried while working. I almost collapsed," and added, "After finishing work at dawn, I sat crouched by the roadside, crying and waiting for the bus."