Douyin is making efforts in the same city, and Meituan should be anxious

This article discusses the competitive relationship between Douyin Waimai and Meituan, and compares and analyzes the advantages of both parties. It aims to answer whether Douyin Waimai can surpass Meituan, and the status and influence of the two in the field of local services. It is recommended for readers who are interested in Douyin, Meituan and the field of local services, as well as those who want to understand the competitive situation between Douyin Waimai and Meituan.

Can Douyin food delivery be better than Meituan? This is a question that many people have been discussing.

In the past one or two years, Douyin has invested a lot of effort in the field of local life.

Not only does it have content channels for the same city, it also offers exciting takeout, hotels, homestays, scenic spot tours, hourly delivery, etc.

Everyone says that Meituan’s Wang Xing should be anxious, as Douyin’s local life track will leave Meituan far behind.

01Douyin local is indeed a gold mine

First of all, it has to be said that Douyin is a huge gold mine for all offline restaurants, hotels and other physical businesses.

Although Douyin's local services have been around for two or three years, the village chief believes that the Douyin local section is still in its infancy.

On the one hand, Douyin's supporting facilities in the same-city service section have been gradually improved. From the initial same-city content entrance, short video product cards to the heart-warming takeaway, it is very convenient for consumers and merchants.

On the other hand, looking at the whole country, whether it is merchants or consumers, Douyin's local-related services are still lacking.

The number of merchants, product categories, regional coverage, delivery and service capabilities, including consumers' consumption mentality, etc.

But five years ago, people were not very willing to place orders on Douyin, so it still required a process of training.

Therefore, whether it is for merchants or for companies that promote local services, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

02Meituan should be more anxious

It is impossible to say that Meituan is not in a hurry at all. According to Meituan’s latest financial report data, this can be indirectly reflected in at least three aspects.

First, the number of consumers has decreased. In 2022, the number of Meituan transaction users was 678 million, 12.6 million less than in 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 1.8%;

Secondly, advertising revenue decreased. In 2022, Meituan’s advertising revenue from traffic distribution and promotion capabilities was only 7.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.8%.

Third, the local profit margin has declined. In the fourth quarter, Meituan’s core local business profit was 7.2 billion, and the operating profit margin was 17%. Compared with 22% and 20% in the previous two quarters, the profit margin has declined.

It cannot be said that the above three sets of data are completely affected by Douyin. After all, they are also related to the overall environment last year and other local platforms.

However, with the increase in the number of Douyin users and active users, the gradual maturity of users' consumption mentality, as well as Douyin's cooperation with Ele.me in instant delivery and Douyin's efforts in in-store business, there will still be some impact.

03TikTok still can’t shake Meituan

But overall, I remain optimistic about Meituan’s position in the local city service sector.

Douyin may be able to get a piece of the pie, but Meituan is still the boss.

Just like Meituan’s own Meituan Taxi, Didi is still the only one that stands out in the end.

First, in the consumer mindset of users , Meituan is always the first choice. Even if there are other platforms, they may still compare prices.

When users want to order takeout at noon, they will not open Douyin first, but Meituan or Ele.me.

Secondly, in terms of product services , Meituan still has core advantages in terms of the number of merchants, number of products, coverage, etc.

Third, in terms of delivery capabilities , although Douyin chose to cooperate with Ele.me, Meituan’s own self-operated business is not something Douyin can compete with for the time being.

Douyin will always be a content platform, and Meituan is a local service platform. This kind of user mentality, platform investment, and product form means that everyone can only do their own little thing.

04Users don’t need a universal TikTok

From Douyin's perspective, if the same-city service is not independent, Douyin will always prioritize users' content experience rather than e-commerce consumption.

Douyin currently has to provide local services, produce high-quality content, and compete with Taobao and JD.com for market share in traditional e-commerce. Douyin alone cannot handle so much.

Just imagine, if Douyin really has so many online and offline businesses, then every short video you see could become an advertisement.

However, users do not want to be disturbed by constant marketing from such a so-called omnipotent APP, while businesses want to earn money by acquiring customers through Douyin. There is a contradiction between the two.

Just like when you buy things on Taobao, all the products you see are advertisements themselves, so you don’t mind it, and the same is true for Meituan.

There is another very important issue. For offline Meituan merchants, there are three problems:

First of all, is it really more cost-effective to acquire customers on Douyin than on Meituan?

Secondly, can the merchants themselves create good content?

Third, how long can merchants continue to advertise on Douyin?

I think it is difficult for most small and medium-sized businesses, such as beef soup, Shaxian, ramen, stir-fry and other catering stores that we consume daily. Do they really invest in Douyin? Do they really have time to create Douyin content?

I personally think that Douyin has certain opportunities in the in-store consumption sector, but of course it is still limited to some larger and more mature brands.

If we just put the local life in an app like Douyin, although we can make some money, I think it is still just an embellishment.

Author: The village chief lives in Shili Village

Source: WeChat public account: "Shili Village (ID: shilipxl)"