Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 934 10 Billion vs. 3.0 Billion: The Money-Burning War 3.0
This time, it was the top executive of Bingxi who personally issued the statement.

Regardless, at least we can see a sincere attitude and a genuine desire to solve the problem, rather than continuing down the wrong path.

The hardships Huang Zheng faced in starting his business and the difficulties he encountered in market competition, as described in his interview, still evoked sympathy from some people.

This shows that Huang Zheng is a smart person who knows how to admit his mistakes and change course in time.

He is also a shrewd businessman who knows how to minimize losses.

Unlike some older generation of traditional business owners who stubbornly insist on their mistakes and live in a self-indulgent narrative.

The reason why such people succeed is not necessarily because of their extraordinary abilities; they may simply be lucky ones who benefited from the favorable circumstances of the times.

Thursday, March 8th.

Users have noticed a prominent "Flash Delivery" entry appearing on the new version of Taobao's homepage.

Taobao and Meituan announced that they will pilot "one-hour delivery" or even "half-hour delivery" instant delivery services in some cities, covering multiple categories such as catering, fresh food, medicine, and daily necessities.

The slogan went even further, proclaiming: "Those 10 billion over there aren't enough? We'll add another 30 billion over here!"

平台每日发放大额优惠券，“满25减21”、“满25减20”、“满16减16”等多张无门槛券几乎相当于“白送”，甚至被网友戏称为“零元购”。

Coupled with the media hype surrounding "Meituan Waimai and Taobao Flash Delivery's 0 Yuan Purchase," this move is seen as a landmark event in the Alibaba-Meituan alliance's offensive in the food delivery market, and also represents a strong counterattack by Meituan after being ambushed by Ele.me in its core group-buying market.

Although Meituan's food delivery business was previously suppressed by Ele.me and relegated to a niche market, its basic delivery capacity in various cities remains intact. This time, leveraging Taobao's traffic and capital, it has reignited the battle with a fierce momentum.

Sure enough, as soon as the coupons were issued and traffic was redirected, users flooded in instantly.

Meituan experienced a surge in orders, causing its servers to crash at one point.

The official response was: "Order volume exceeded historical peak levels, triggering traffic throttling protection."

The battle between red and yellow has reignited, benefiting countless consumers.

The hashtags #FreeMilkTea# and #ChinaReallyHasZeroYuanPurchase# trended on social media, causing netizens to experience a happy dilemma.

"Stop hitting me! If you keep hitting me, I'll be ready to be sold!"

"At the age when I most want to lose weight, I've encountered the most amazing benefit—anyone in my family would understand!"

"After finishing one cup, there are three more. I can't finish them all, I simply can't! I suspect I'll get diabetes when I get old!"

"Urgent! Can any expert compile the most comprehensive guide? I feel like I've missed out on a fortune!"

Some people have also raised questions:
"Foreign countries are building cars and rockets, while our tech giants are spending all their money on food delivery and sauce-flavored food technology? Can't they have any ambition?!"

"No way, is this industry really that profitable? Why are Alibaba rushing into it like moths to a flame? I don't understand!"

Soon after, 36Kr, a publication that has always advocated "letting some people see the future first," published an in-depth article titled "Bait and Hook," which sharply analyzed why internet giants are obsessed with the food delivery battlefield.

In the world of the internet, food delivery is the third most frequent activity after social interaction and communication. It can even be said that its user stickiness and frequency of use are almost unmatched.

Unlike tourism spending measured in "months" or "years," or online shopping measured in "days," "eating" is a rigid need that occurs every day; it is deeply ingrained in daily life and irreplaceable.

This is why, when internet giants realize that the growth of their existing app users is about to peak, they must find a new, more frequent traffic source to maintain the scale of daily active users and usage time.

Food delivery is a traffic pool that is regaining attention outside of this nearly saturated red ocean market.

As technological capabilities continue to upgrade, the data dimensions accumulated by the food delivery business are becoming increasingly rich: it includes users' dietary preferences, consumption levels, real-time location, merchant operation status, regional heat distribution, and so on.

What may seem trivial to ordinary people is invaluable to tech giants.

They can support a precision advertising system—knowing what you like to eat, it recommends corresponding restaurants, snacks, and even kitchen appliances;
They can empower financial lending businesses—by having access to merchants' cash flow, they can provide loans to small and medium-sized businesses with greater confidence, such as Ant Loan and Meituan Business Loan;

They can also inform strategic decision-making—knowing which regions and product categories are experiencing explosive growth allows for more precise planning of offline stores and optimization of warehousing and logistics.

In short, it can be summarized in four words: "treating the symptoms."

Its fundamental purpose is to cultivate users' consumption habits: attract traffic and build trust through high-frequency food delivery services, and then gradually penetrate these users with high-profit businesses, such as 3C digital products, hotels and tourism, and financial insurance.

What the general public sees is "10 billion yuan in subsidies", "30 billion yuan in additional support", and a frenzy of bargain hunting - free milk tea, low-priced takeout, and daily necessities that are almost free;
In the eyes of the giants, it is never about the gains or losses of a single city or battle, but about the final outcome of the entire war.

What they are truly investing in is their own voice and ecological position in the internet landscape over the next decade.

Short-term losses are made in exchange for long-term, larger strategic returns. This is a typical example of "strategic loss".

In fact, the model of "making money through cross-selling or ecosystem effects even when the main business is not profitable" is extremely common in the business world. It is not only a core strategy of internet companies, but also used by many traditional giants.

For example, in the gaming industry, console manufacturers like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo often sell hardware at cost price or at a slight loss to rapidly expand their user base and bring players into their closed ecosystem. Once a user chooses a platform, subsequent game purchases, membership subscriptions, and other consumption become the real source of profit.

Another example is the membership-based supermarkets that have emerged in recent years: they sell goods at near-cost prices, and their core profits actually come from membership fees.

Users must pay an 'entry fee' to qualify for shopping—this upfront fee is both pure profit and a way to lock in customer loyalty in advance.

The most classic example is the "contract phone": you get a phone for free or at a low price, but you have to commit to a long-term communication plan.

These patterns are essentially all about "using bait to lure the hook".

Returning to the local services battle between the other side and Alibaba—what constitutes the "bait" and what constitutes the "hook" is self-evident.

The key reason why Alibaba must take action is for defense: if JD.com, Douyin, and Ele.me successfully integrate food delivery and local life services, making users accustomed to completing all consumption within their ecosystems, then the frequency of opening Meituan and Alipay will inevitably decrease significantly.

For Alibaba and Meituan, this is no longer just a business competition, but a matter of their future survival.

“If I don’t do it, but my competitors do, they will gradually erode my users, my data, my market share, and eventually shake my core business.”

Therefore, even if it doesn't make money, one must enter the game. This is essentially a "traffic arms race" to avoid being kicked out of the next generation of internet ecosystem.

From another perspective, this is also a trap set by the Other Shore Group to lure the enemy into a trap.

There is never simple competition in the capital market.

Behind every move lies a profound strategic intent.

With the influx of more heavyweight players such as Taobao, JD.com, Douyin, and Kuaishou, the boundaries of the food delivery market are constantly expanding and becoming blurred.

"Instant retail" has become a new main battleground for local life services.

The final outcome of this battle may not belong to any single platform, but to those "ecosystem players" who can truly integrate e-commerce efficiency, localized services, and an ultimate user experience.

As for who will ultimately win—I'm currently enjoying this free milk tea, just like everyone else, waiting to see.

Seeing his article once again attract enthusiastic attention from netizens, with comments exceeding a thousand in less than a day and being quickly reposted by multiple platforms, Wang Zhuang felt a familiar sense of satisfaction.

As a senior reporter at 36Kr—or, in today's parlance, a chief reporter.

He has built a reputation in the industry for his in-depth, exclusive, and highly influential business reporting.

Previously, he wrote many popular insightful articles, such as "Don't Let a Certain Company Blind You", "A Strangers: Jia Yueting's Heartfelt Farewell to LeEco" and "From the Return of the Monkey King, We Can See the Gold Content of Beyond Technology".

Because 36Kr is backed by investment from Beyond Technology, Wang Zhuang has had a wider range of information channels than most of his peers in recent events.

From the negative public opinion surrounding Ant Group in the past, to the current subsidy war between Meituan and Ele.me, and the public opinion clash between Jingxi and Pinduoduo...

He saw things more clearly than others.

Ultimately, behind all these waves of turmoil lies just one sentence: "Alibaba and Ant Group want to go public, but the other side won't let them go public, while Alibaba insists that Ant Group go public."

This is essentially a power struggle between two major factions in the Chinese internet industry: Beyond and Alibaba.

However, these two companies are still just "chips" on the "gambling table" in the open.

Wang Zhuang is a seasoned veteran in the industry; he knows all too well what he can and cannot write.

Readers enjoy reading confrontations and breaking news, so I'll just write a few things that are popular and appealing.

As for the bottom line that can't be crossed, he knows it perfectly well. Otherwise, if he's not careful, 36Kr could be taken down by his article, and he wouldn't even have a grave to cry over.

However, seeing the increasingly heated online debate, Wang Zhuang had a feeling that the authorities were about to lose their temper.

"Chen Mo has gone too far this time. What is he trying to do?"

"It's time to give them a warning, lest some people really think they're the most important person in the world."

"Last time the housing and construction department talked to him, as everyone saw, he ended up 'lecturing' him instead. He's completely turned against us and doesn't know his place."

"However, the north is indeed very protective of its own, and the other side is now the face of the capital. We are far away and cannot help in the immediate crisis."

"Just because we don't have it doesn't mean others don't. Old Ma made quite a few phone calls this time; he has some connections, so his words carry more weight than ours."

"I suggest that we also lend a hand to support Ant Group's IPO process. After all, it would benefit everyone, wouldn't it?"

"it is good."

Meanwhile, after successfully obtaining crucial information, the elite task force quickly split into two groups, like a pair of invisible yet powerful giant hands, slowly reaching out towards Jiang Fan and Viya.
(End of this chapter)