Meituan’s Dilemma
Meituan probably dares not exceed an 80% market share—allegedly because regulators won’t allow it. For years, it has maintained a roughly 73/27 split with Ele.me. Though it holds the initiative, the failure to clinch a decisive victory means pressure remains intense. The cautionary tale of Taobao letting Pinduoduo “educate” the market sent shockwaves across the entire internet industry, so Meituan is especially alert to the possibility of a low-price food-delivery platform emerging. The aggressive growth of Pin Haofan (“Group Buy Meals”) reflects a push to capture massive incremental demand in lower-tier markets. At the end of last year, fewer than half of all netizens had ever ordered takeout; figuring out where the rest are hiding is Meituan’s most important question for what comes next.
