On-Demand E-Commerce Growth: Meituan Partners with Midea
Chinese food delivery giant Meituan has launched a groundbreaking service, highlighting the rapid on-demand e-commerce growth in the industry. In collaboration with Midea, one of the world’s largest home appliance manufacturers, users can now order home appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers via the Meituan app and have them delivered within just 30 minutes. This service clearly showcases the ongoing expansion of on-demand e-commerce across China.
Expanding Access Through Strategic Integration
By the end of this year, Meituan will integrate 25,000 Midea retail stores into its platform, significantly increasing the reach of Midea’s products to millions of Meituan users across China. Additionally, Meituan app users, including those on its crowdsourced review platform Dianping, can easily browse and purchase Midea products from nearby stores with the convenience of rapid delivery. To encourage early adoption, Meituan and Dianping are offering vouchers to consumers.
Diversification and Strategic Partnerships
Moreover, this collaboration is part of Meituan’s broader strategy to diversify its offerings and explore new growth areas. Over the past few years, Meituan has formed similar partnerships with both international and domestic brands, including Lego, Apple resellers, Mars, Decathlon, and Suning. These partnerships have not only expanded its e-commerce reach but also contributed to the rapid on-demand e-commerce growth in China.
Significant Growth in E-Commerce Orders
According to Meituan’s 2023 annual report, its on-demand e-commerce order volume increased by more than 40% year-over-year. The average daily orders exceeded 8.4 million in the first quarter of this year. The company attributes this impressive growth to successful partnerships, which have effectively encouraged its vast user base of over 500 million food delivery customers to explore a broader range of products.
The Growing Trend of On-Demand Shopping
The trend toward on-demand shopping is accelerating rapidly, with more consumers now comfortable buying electronics with the same convenience as ordering food delivery. In this context, Meituan executive Wang Chao emphasized this significant shift in consumer behavior, which is driving the rapid expansion of on-demand e-commerce.
Future of On-Demand E-Commerce in China
Looking ahead, China’s on-demand e-commerce market is rapidly expanding, with its value expected to double to 2.5 trillion yuan (US$344 billion) by 2026, according to a March report by consultancy iResearch. Furthermore, other major Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as Alibaba’s Taobao and JD.com, have also intensified their efforts to enhance one-hour delivery services. Meanwhile, Douyin, the Chinese counterpart to TikTok, introduced a similar service in 2022.
Meituan is set to report its second-quarter financial results on August 28, further highlighting the company’s leading role in driving on-demand e-commerce growth.