Behind the biggest business battle in 2025: The boundary between e-commerce and food delivery is blurring | 36Kr's Annual Perspective ⑥
The "Perspective" section specially planned the "36Kr Annual Perspective" series at the end of the year, using data to analyze the trends throughout 2025 and presenting the key points in this year's business world that cannot be missed through pictures.
This is the content of our 6th issue.
Author | Peng Qian, Ren Cairu
The food delivery war is the largest and most systematic business battle this year. Its highlight does not lie in the price hedging between Alibaba and Meituan, which is like "harming the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred to oneself", but in the fact that this is a battle that has to be fought - because deeper changes are taking place: e-commerce and food delivery are entering the same competitive track.
Chart drawn by 36Kr
Many people only saw the excitement of the food delivery war but ignored a more important thing: food delivery is no longer just food delivery, and e-commerce is no longer just e-commerce.
Chart drawn by 36Kr
When "30-minute delivery" continuously covers core categories such as fresh produce, alcohol, beauty products, and 3C products, instant retail has begun to systematically erode the hinterland of traditional e-commerce. When "fast" becomes the default option, Alibaba's entry into the battle is not an expansionary ambition but a necessary defense.
Chart drawn by 36Kr
Chart drawn by 36Kr
In this contest, what is repeatedly verified is not the subsidy intensity, but the fulfillment density, system efficiency, and who can adapt to a new retail structure where "fast" becomes the infrastructure first. Whoever defines "instant" may control the next-generation consumer entrance.
Chart drawn by 36Kr