By Coco Feng
Copyright scmp
Alibaba Group Holding’s competition with Meituan is expanding from instant commerce into the bricks-and-mortar market, as the Hangzhou-based tech conglomerate prepares to offer discounted in-store dining vouchers to consumers on the mainland.
That new initiative is expected to start on Saturday in selected districts in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Jiaxing, a city in eastern Zhejiang province, according to a report on Friday by local media outlet LatePost, which cited unnamed sources.
Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday.
The company’s dining vouchers – under instant commerce unit Taobao Shangou and Ele.me – would enable consumers to buy meals at a discount in various eateries, which would initially cover restaurant chains, tea shops and bakeries ahead of the programme’s roll-out across more cities, according to the report.
The business model would replicate a business that Meituan started when it merged with the Yelp-like Dianping platform in 2015. ByteDance-owned short video platform Douyin established a similar service on the mainland in 2020.
Alibaba’s latest programme reflects the opportunity to reach more consumers, as the launch comes 10 days ahead of China’s “golden week” holiday, which kicks off on October 1, when tens of millions of Chinese travel and boost spending.
Alibaba’s foray into the in-store dining business has been in a “fairly broad and rudimentary manner”, according to the LatePost report, citing an unidentified merchant. The report said the discounts to be offered by Alibaba matched those of Meituan and Douyin.
The recently launched Amap Street Stars – which uses artificial intelligence algorithms to rank destinations including restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions – is expected to be involved in Alibaba’s discounted in-store dining programme, according to LatePost.
That would mean Alibaba users would be able to purchase discounted in-store dining vouchers from Taobao Shangou, Ele.me and Amap, giving this operation a huge boost in traffic. Overall, hundreds of Alibaba employees have been involved in the new business, the report said.
According to Meituan, its in-store dining business saw a 40 per cent growth in orders during the June quarter.
