Instant retail holds the promise of transforming the retail industry.

On June 23, Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group, announced the immediate integration of Ele.me and Flying Pigs into Alibaba's China e-commerce business group. This move will maintain their corporate governance structure but align their business goals and operations with the China e-commerce business group, streamlining decision-making and execution. Earlier in the year, Wu Yongming had also orchestrated the full integration of Taobao and Tmall Group, the International Digital Commerce Group, and other e-commerce entities like 1688 and Xianyu to form Alibaba's consolidated e-commerce business group.

Essentially, the merging of Ele.me and Flying Pigs is about forging a stronger alliance with Taobao and Tmall. More precisely, it aims to bolster not just "Taobao Flash Buy," a service many are already familiar with, but also the broader "transformation towards a large consumption platform" initiated by Alibaba's e-commerce platforms.

Alibaba, JD.com, and Meituan are intensifying their efforts, marking the beginning of a fierce battle in instant retail.

Meituan was the first to respond. On the same day, it announced the full-scale expansion of its instant retail business, revealing that during this year's 618 shopping festival, visits to nearly one million physical stores on Meituan Flash Buy (excluding takeout) surpassed 100 million, with mobile transactions doubling, smart device sales growing over sixfold, and liquor sales jumping more than tenfold.

However, Alibaba is not alone in this transformation. JD.com's transformation is even more pronounced. A few months ago, it was unthinkable that people would order takeout on JD.com, let alone book hotels. On June 18, JD.com released an "Open Letter to All Hotel Operators," introducing the "JD Hotel PLUS Membership Plan" with a maximum commission-free period of three years, generating significant buzz.

In an interview, JD.com founder Liu Qiangdong explained the company's logic for entering the takeout and hotel travel sectors: "Selling food upfront may not be profitable, but we aim to earn through the supply chain."

Liu Qiangdong, Photo/JD.com

Moreover, another e-commerce giant, Pinduoduo, is also testing the waters. According to LatePost, Pinduoduo's grocery shopping platform is experimenting with self-built commodity warehouses in major cities like Shanghai, with plans to launch instant delivery services as early as August.

However, whether it's Alibaba aiming to become a large consumption platform, JD.com focusing on supply chain profitability, or Pinduoduo testing the waters, the ultimate question is whether consumers will embrace these changes. The facts seem to support this: Within a month of its launch, Taobao Flash Buy (including takeout) exceeded 40 million daily orders, while JD.com's Instant Delivery (including takeout) hit 25 million daily orders at one point.

Both Alibaba and JD.com are not new to instant retail. Taobao Flash Buy is an evolution of "Taobao 1-Hour Delivery," while JD.com's Instant Delivery integrated "JD Daojia" and "JD 1-Hour Delivery" at the end of last year. Both companies have been deploying instant retail strategies for some time.

Nonetheless, before diving deeply into the "takeout" sector, JD.com and Alibaba's instant retail efforts were relatively modest. Conversely, this may have been the key to Meituan Flash Buy's rise amidst the e-commerce giants.

E-commerce platforms leverage takeout services to acquire users and expand scenarios

Beyond meals, instant delivery is also crucial for nighttime snacks, urgent daily necessities, and last-minute gifts. For Meituan, Flash Buy is a natural extension of its takeout service, utilizing the same transportation network and delivery capabilities to serve not just restaurants but all offline retailers, including supermarkets and pharmacies.

Furthermore, as the scale of dark stores expands, the gap in product variety narrows, making Meituan Flash Buy increasingly resemble an e-commerce platform. When Meituan officially launched its instant retail brand "Meituan Flash Buy" in April 2025, it positioned itself as a "new-generation shopping platform that accompanies consumers 24/7," selling "everything in life" from digital appliances to pet supplies.

To some extent, Meituan is encroaching on Alibaba and JD.com's territory.

In 2025, the distinction between instant retail and online retail is blurring for most consumers. This prompts the major online retail platforms to intensify their focus on instant retail: "JD Flash Sale" underwent a redesign in January, becoming a prominent feature in the JD.com app, while JD.com's takeout service launched in March. Similarly, Taobao 1-Hour Delivery officially upgraded to "Taobao Flash Buy" on April 30 and rolled out nationwide on May 2.

In the long run, the ultimate goals of instant retail and online retail are bound to converge, as Wu Yongming suggests, "transforming towards a large consumption platform." However, in the short to medium term, JD.com's Instant Delivery and Taobao Flash Buy aim to redefine "one-hour shopping" through takeout services. According to Alibaba, in terms of order structure, Taobao Flash Buy has expanded significantly, with non-beverage orders accounting for 75%, and non-meal category orders growing far beyond expectations.

Photo/Taobao

Additionally, during Alibaba's fiscal year 2025 Q4 and full-year earnings call, it was revealed that Taobao Flash Buy exceeded expectations in both scale growth and efficiency improvement, even boosting platform user activity. Coincidentally, QuestMobile data also showed that in May, when JD.com increased subsidies for its takeout service, the monthly active users of the JD.com app rose to 169 million, surpassing Meituan once again.

Simultaneously, a more tangible change is that instant retail services like JD.com Pharmacy have significantly benefited from the rapid expansion of JD.com's takeout business. The person in charge of JD.com Pharmacy's Instant Delivery told Caijing that "the synergistic effect of JD.com's takeout efforts is already evident, with JD.com Pharmacy's Instant Delivery's market share in Beijing rapidly expanding."

Reflecting on this landscape, takeout is indeed the optimal entry point for instant retail. The deterministic demand and high delivery frequency of takeout constitute a rare "high-frequency rigid demand" in retail scenarios. For e-commerce platforms, mastering takeout better cultivates users' consumption habits and presents more opportunities to expand "upwards" and "downwards" along the consumption chain.

Amidst the giants' scuffle, instant retail needs to continue educating the market

For JD.com and Taobao, the reasons for entering instant retail are compelling, and current results show promise in challenging Meituan. However, it's essential to acknowledge that neither JD.com nor Taobao is a newcomer in this space.

On June 17, JD.com announced the privatization of Dada, an instant retail and delivery platform. Dada boasts an active rider base of approximately 1.2 to 1.3 million, and JD.com has continued to recruit full-time riders since entering the takeout business. In contrast, Taobao can directly leverage Ele.me's Fengniao platform, with 4 million annually active riders and merchant resources. Therefore, JD.com needs to invest more in expanding its merchant resources, including introducing the label and slogan of "dining hall takeout."

However, the bigger challenge lies on the demand side. According to Meituan's first-quarter financial report as of March 2025, the daily order volume of Meituan's non-catering category instant retail just exceeded 18 million orders. Furthermore, according to Jiemian News, Meituan earlier acknowledged rumors that "Meituan's daily takeout order volume exceeded 90 million orders." In summary, despite being the industry leader after seven years of development, Meituan Flash Buy still lags significantly behind its takeout business.

Photo/Meituan

The core issue is that instant retail is rigid in food and beverage and some fast-moving consumer goods scenarios where time and convenience are crucial. However, when moving beyond food, beverage, and medicine into a broader market, a different reality emerges:

Most consumers are not as time-sensitive as one might think. For a meal, being late by half an hour or an hour significantly impacts experience and satisfaction. But for a mobile phone or a set of home appliances, the difference between one hour and the next day is not decisive. Instead, price and after-sales service are more likely to influence purchasing decisions.

In fact, the primary categories of instant delivery are still fresh produce, medicine, alcohol, flowers, etc. As for 3C products and home appliances, they are more often promoted during new product launches.

However, from this perspective, JD.com has a clear advantage. Its self-built logistics and self-operated model make it easier for JD.com to integrate the instant retail system with the vast product supply and unified after-sales service of online retail. Moreover, warehouses and outlets with a rapid nationwide network have a greater chance of catching up with Meituan's over 30,000 lightning warehouses (with plans to reach 100,000 by 2027).

Nevertheless, before that, both JD.com's Instant Delivery and Taobao Flash Buy must first prove their attractiveness, including how many consumers will continue to order takeout and other instant retail items on Taobao and JD.com after subsidies end. This question remains unanswered.

Source: Lei Technology

Images in this article are from: 123RF Licensed Stock Photo Library Source: Lei Technology