Meituan Business Model Canvas

Meituan actively cultivates partnerships with leading technology firms and academic research institutions to bolster its artificial intelligence development, particularly for drone delivery and autonomous logistics systems. These alliances are instrumental in refining operational effectiveness, elevating customer engagement, and venturing into novel service domains.

A significant achievement stemming from these collaborations is Meituan's self-developed fourth-generation drone, which has earned the distinction of being the first in China to receive an operating certificate for nationwide low-altitude logistics coverage, showcasing tangible advancements in their logistics capabilities.

Meituan's strategic alliances with technology and research entities are vital for its innovation pipeline, particularly in areas like AI-driven logistics and drone delivery. These collaborations are key to enhancing operational efficiency and exploring new service frontiers.

A prime example of this is Meituan's self-developed fourth-generation drone, which in 2024 became the first in China to receive an operating certificate for nationwide low-altitude logistics coverage. This achievement underscores the tangible benefits of its R&D partnerships.

Furthermore, Meituan's collaborations with major payment providers, such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, are indispensable for its high-volume transactional business. These partnerships ensure seamless and secure payment processing, directly contributing to its substantial Gross Transaction Volume (GTV).

In 2023, Meituan's GTV reached approximately RMB 1.04 trillion, highlighting the critical role of these financial integrations in facilitating commerce on its platform.

Meituan's core strength lies in its continuous effort to onboard new merchants across diverse sectors like food delivery, local services, and retail. This expansion is crucial for offering consumers a wide array of choices and maintaining platform relevance.

The company provides merchants with essential digital tools and ongoing support to effectively manage their online storefronts, promotions, and customer interactions. This focus on merchant enablement is key to fostering loyalty and operational efficiency.

By 2024, Meituan reported a significant milestone, with its active merchant base growing to an impressive 14.5 million. This substantial number underscores the platform's broad reach and its success in attracting and retaining businesses.

Meituan's key activities are centered on platform development and maintenance, managing its extensive delivery network, onboarding and supporting merchants, and driving user engagement through marketing and promotions.

The company continually invests in its super-app technology and data analytics, with R&D spending around RMB 11.2 billion in 2023, to enhance user experience and operational efficiency. This technological prowess is crucial for managing its daily operations, which saw over 60 million orders handled by its delivery network in 2023.

Meituan's merchant base expanded to 14.5 million by 2024, supported by digital tools and marketing initiatives that also drive user acquisition and retention. These efforts contributed to a 12.5% year-on-year revenue increase in Q1 2024, highlighting the effectiveness of its engagement strategies.

Meituan's formidable brand recognition and deeply ingrained reputation within China are cornerstones of its success, acting as critical resources. This established trust significantly simplifies the process of attracting new users and onboarding merchants, cultivating strong customer loyalty and consequently lowering customer acquisition costs. For instance, in the first quarter of 2024, Meituan reported a 12.5% year-over-year increase in its food delivery services revenue, a testament to its sustained user engagement driven by brand strength.

Meituan's proprietary technology, including AI-powered recommendation engines and dynamic pricing, is a cornerstone of its business. These advanced systems personalize user experiences and significantly optimize delivery logistics, making operations smoother and more efficient. The company's sophisticated dispatch systems are crucial for managing its vast delivery network. Meituan's commitment to innovation is evident in its substantial R&D investments, exceeding RMB 20 billion as of 2024, underscoring the importance of its technological edge.

Meituan's extensive user base, surpassing 0.77 billion annual trading users in 2024, is a cornerstone of its business. This massive user engagement translates into consistent demand for its diverse services. Complementing its user numbers, Meituan boasts a vast network of 14.5 million active merchants as of 2024. This expansive merchant ecosystem provides users with an unparalleled selection of goods and services. The synergy between its large user base and extensive merchant network creates a powerful network effect.

Meituan's formidable brand recognition and deeply ingrained reputation within China are cornerstones of its success, acting as critical resources. This established trust significantly simplifies the process of attracting new users and onboarding merchants, cultivating strong customer loyalty and consequently lowering customer acquisition costs. For instance, in the first quarter of 2024, Meituan reported a 12.5% year-over-year increase in its food delivery services revenue, a testament to its sustained user engagement driven by brand strength.

Meituan's logistics and delivery infrastructure is a cornerstone of its business model, comprising a vast network of delivery riders and sophisticated smart dispatch systems. This physical backbone ensures the rapid and efficient fulfillment of its on-demand services, from food delivery to grocery shopping. A key component of this infrastructure is Meituan's 'Lightning Warehouses,' branded as Meituan InstaMart. These facilities are crucial for quick commerce operations, enabling rapid order processing and delivery. Meituan's investment in this area is substantial, with projections indicating that InstaMart will surpass 100,000 warehouses by 2027, highlighting its strategic focus on expanding this critical resource.

Meituan's human capital is a critical engine for its success, encompassing a diverse range of talent from engineers and data scientists driving innovation to operations managers ensuring seamless service delivery. This skilled workforce is fundamental to the company's ability to grow its platform and maintain operational excellence. As of March 31, 2025, Meituan reported a significant workforce of 114,731 employees. This substantial human capital underpins the company's extensive service network and its capacity for continuous development.

Meituan's diverse service ecosystem acts as a powerful magnet for users, offering a single platform for everything from getting dinner delivered to booking a hotel or buying movie tickets. This convenience is a major draw, keeping users coming back for more. In 2023, Meituan's food delivery segment alone handled over 14 billion orders, showcasing the immense scale of its integrated offerings.

Meituan offers unparalleled convenience by consolidating a vast array of essential local services, from food delivery to grocery shopping and ride-hailing, into a single, user-friendly application. This integration saves users considerable time and effort in managing their daily lives. In 2023, Meituan's food delivery segment alone processed over 14 billion orders, underscoring the platform's immense utility and reach.

Meituan cultivates deep customer loyalty through its tiered membership programs, such as the "Shen Hui Yuan" (神会员), offering escalating benefits like exclusive discounts and priority services. This strategy drives repeat engagement across its vast ecosystem of food delivery, travel, and local services.

The success of these programs is evident in their expansion; the premium 'God membership' tier, for instance, has been thoughtfully extended to support brick-and-mortar merchants, integrating them more closely into Meituan's loyalty framework and enhancing the overall customer experience.

Meituan's customer relationships are built on a foundation of self-service through its intuitive app, supported by automated customer service that handles a majority of inquiries. Loyalty is fostered through tiered membership programs like Shen Hui Yuan, which offers exclusive benefits and extends to merchant integration.

The platform also emphasizes trust and transparency via a robust user-generated content system of ratings and reviews, directly influencing purchasing decisions. Furthermore, Meituan employs advanced data analytics for personalized recommendations and targeted promotions, significantly boosting engagement and conversion rates.

Meituan's merchant-integrated platforms are a cornerstone of its business model, enabling seamless operations for a vast network of businesses. By directly connecting with merchant point-of-sale systems and online storefronts, Meituan allows for efficient management of orders, menus, and customer interactions within its ecosystem.

This deep integration streamlines workflows, reducing manual effort and potential errors for merchants. For instance, in 2023, Meituan reported serving over 6.8 million active merchants, highlighting the scale and importance of these integrated solutions for diverse businesses on its platform.

Meituan's channels are multifaceted, encompassing its primary mobile app and the integrated Dianping platform for discovery, alongside a vast network of delivery riders for physical fulfillment. Strategic offline partnerships further extend its reach and service integration.

The company's super-app serves as the central hub, facilitating a wide range of services from food delivery to travel bookings, with 2.1 billion food delivery orders processed through the app in Q1 2024. Dianping complements this by driving user engagement through reviews and local business discovery, contributing significantly to Meituan's "Food + Delivery" segment, a key revenue driver in 2023.

Meituan's logistics network, comprising over 6.8 million active merchants and a vast rider force, handles over 50 million orders daily as of early 2024, underscoring the scale of its physical delivery capabilities. Offline partnerships, especially in lower-tier cities, are a strategic focus for 2024, with significant merchant onboarding growth reported by the end of 2023.

Hotels and travel service providers are a crucial customer segment for Meituan, leveraging the platform to reach a vast customer base for bookings and reservations. This includes everything from large hotel chains to smaller guesthouses, all looking to attract travelers through Meituan's extensive network. In 2023, Meituan’s hotel booking segment saw significant growth, with GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) in the hotel and travel category reaching ¥349.7 billion, an increase of 22.5% year-on-year.

Meituan effectively cross-sells its hotel booking services by capitalizing on its dominant food delivery platform. Users who frequently order food are exposed to travel deals and hotel options, creating a natural pathway for engagement and conversion within the Meituan ecosystem. This integrated approach allows Meituan to capture a larger share of consumer spending across different lifestyle needs.

Meituan's customer base is diverse, encompassing urban consumers seeking convenience, local businesses aiming for wider reach, and a growing segment of retailers and lifestyle service providers. The platform's success hinges on its ability to cater to these varied needs, from immediate food delivery to booking travel and entertainment. This broad appeal is reflected in Meituan's significant user growth and transaction volumes across its various segments.

The platform's strength lies in its integrated ecosystem, where users can seamlessly access a wide range of services. This cross-selling capability, evident in how food delivery users are exposed to hotel deals, enhances user engagement and expands Meituan's revenue potential. By acting as a comprehensive local commerce hub, Meituan captures a substantial portion of urban consumer spending.

Meituan's commitment to expanding its instant retail and lifestyle services in 2024 further diversifies its customer segments. By onboarding more local retailers and partnering with entertainment providers, Meituan solidifies its position as a one-stop shop for daily needs and leisure activities. This strategic expansion taps into evolving consumer preferences for immediate access and curated experiences.

Meituan's commitment to growth is evident in its substantial sales and marketing expenses. These costs are crucial for acquiring new customers, keeping existing ones engaged, and bringing new merchants onto their platform. This includes significant investment in advertising campaigns, offering subsidies to users and merchants, and running various promotional events.

The financial impact of these initiatives is clear. For instance, Meituan's selling and marketing expenses saw a notable increase of 12% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025. This upward trend underscores the company's strategy to maintain market leadership and expand its service offerings through aggressive customer and merchant outreach.

Meituan's cost structure is heavily influenced by its extensive delivery network, technology development, and marketing efforts. Rider compensation, platform operations, and sales and marketing represent the most significant expenditures. These costs are essential for maintaining service quality, driving innovation, and expanding market reach.

Meituan generates significant revenue by offering online marketing and advertising services to its vast network of merchants. These services are crucial for businesses looking to boost their visibility and effectively promote their products and services directly within the Meituan platform, reaching a massive user base.

The growth in this revenue stream is directly tied to the increasing number of active merchants utilizing these marketing tools. For instance, in the first quarter of 2024, Meituan reported a substantial increase in its marketing services revenue, driven by a growing advertiser base and higher spending from merchants seeking to capture more customers.

Meituan's revenue streams are multifaceted, encompassing commissions from food delivery and in-store services, delivery fees from consumers, and advertising income from merchants. The company also generates substantial revenue from its hotel and travel booking services, earning commissions on reservations and offering bundled travel deals. Emerging segments like community group buying and grocery retail are increasingly contributing to its top line, demonstrating a strategic diversification beyond its core offerings.