JD.com founder Richard Liu delivers meals in publicity stunt amid feud with Meituan

JD.com founder Richard Liu (劉強東) has delivered meal orders in Beijing as part of the a publicity stunt following a public feud with Meituan.

Several Beijing consumers shared photos on social media on Monday (21 April) featuring Liu, who was seen wearing a JD Takeaway uniform and holding meal orders, suggesting that he personally participated in frontline delivery services, according to multiple Chinese media reports such as Sina Finance. 

Some consumers commented that they received their first delivery from Liu and felt honoured to experience the service of a billionaire, according to the reports. JD.com responded to the media outlets for clarification, confirming that the news is true. 

The publicity stunt came after a war of words between JD.com and Meituan, with both companies accusing each other of blocking riders from accepting orders on rival platforms. JD.com entered the Chinese food delivery market in February with JD Takeaway, offering zero commissions for restaurants that join before May. It also provides the "5+1" social insurances (五險一金), which cover basic pension, medical, work injury, unemployment, and maternity insurance, along with accident and health insurance for part-time riders.

On Monday, JD.com released a statement on its Weibo account accusing competing platforms of using aggressive tactics to pressure part-time delivery riders into avoiding work with JD Takeaway, though it did not name the platforms involved. In the post addressed to couriers, the company said that a competitor platform has engaged in a "choose one" game (「二選一」遊戲), forcing riders to avoid accepting JD.com’s delivery orders. Those who violate this rule will face penalties, including being banned from the platform. Riders’ income may decrease by around 16% to 25% due to behavior due to the competitor platform's actions, according to the post. 

JD.com added that the competitor platform's actions occurred suddenly, leading to delays in some JD.com delivery orders and resulting in a poor user experience. “We sincerely apologise to affected users. Starting today, all delivery orders that are over 20 minutes late will be free. We have established an emergency response team and will resolve the delivery speed issue within this week,” the post reads. 

To support delivery riders in freely accepting orders and safeguarding their income, JD.com has launched various emergency assistance measures, such as guaranteeing sufficient order volume for riders who have been banned by competitor platforms and increasing the hiring quota for full-time riders from 50,000 to 100,000 over the next three months.

JD.com has also publicly advised a certain unnamed platform, claiming that it chooses to maintain its monopoly and protect its commercial interests, significantly lowering the income of millions of lower-tier riders.

China's food delivery market has been dominated by Meituan, with Alibaba-owned Ele.me as the second-largest competitor in terms of market share, according to Reuters.

Meituan responded on the same day, calling the related accusations "rumours" and emphasising that it does not restrict riders from working on multiple platforms.

Recently, Meituan launched an instant retail brand called "美團閃購", focusing on delivering goods within 30 minutes. Meanwhile, JD.com introduced a eCommerce service named "自營秒送", with plans to hire at least 50,000 full-time delivery riders this quarter.

On 19 April, Meituan refuted rumours claiming it banned riders from accepting orders on other platforms, stating that no food delivery platform worldwide has ever limited riders' options. The company added that riders from platforms such as Meituan and Ele.me all support deliveries for JD.com. Additionally, Meituan accused JD.com of implementing similar restrictive measures and blamed delivery delays on the tight timeframes and steep penalties imposed by JD.com.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to JD.com, Meituan and Ele.me respectively for a statement. 

Photo courtesy: Xiaohongshu account @Godfather

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