On 11 February, e-commerce and logistics giant JD.com announced that it is launching its food delivery service and has begun recruiting restaurants. Any restaurants that sign up with JD Takeaway before 1 May this year, including those already signed up, will receive commission-free service from the platform for a year. Delivery fees will be dependent on distance, order value, time period and weather.
JD Takeaway also made it clear in its announcement that only “quality restaurants with dine-in options” may join the new platform due to food safety and quality requirements. The platform will examine the licenses and photos of the restaurants and send salespeople to conduct an inspection on-site. Restaurants can register now and will be contacted by a client manager after JD Takeaway becomes available in the cities they are located in. There are currently 2 types of deliveries, one delivered by the merchant and the other with JD’s Dada NOW service that boasts over 1.3 million riders, and instant deliveries in as little as 9 minutes.
On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, the topic “JD.com launches takeaway service” (#京东开启外卖服务#) reached number 39 on the Hot Search list within 5 hours with 3.68 million views. Most comments are supportive of the commission-free first year, while others took a dig at Meituan for their 6-8% commission. A small portion of netizens expressed their hope for better quality control from the newly launched platforms than its established competitors.
It was also reported that JD.com had experimented with food delivery with its “local life” services before. In late 2024, JD.com began delivering, tea and coffee, as well as snacks and fast-food through its instant delivery channel. Combining JD’s logistic system and Dada’s delivery capabilities, JD.com might just be able to compete with Meituan and Ele.me, who currently make up 65% and 35% of the market share, respectively. However, pundits also think JD’s true intention is not direct competition with the two but to integrate food delivery into its overarching “local life” services.
