Alibaba Accelerates Taobao Instant Commerce Launch, Heats Up Rivalry With JD.com, Meituan
In a strategic move, Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE:BABA) has advanced the rollout of its rapid-delivery service, Taobao Instant Commerce. This accelerates the rivalry with JD.com (NASDAQ:JD)and Meituan (OTC: MPNGY).
What Happened: The service, initially slated for a May 6 launch in 50 key Chinese cities, offers quick delivery of food, groceries, electronics, and apparel. The expedited launch, announced on Weibo on Friday, is a response to the increasing local demand for swift and cost-effective delivery, a vital component of urban living in China, reported South China Morning Post.
Alibaba’s latest service aims to deliver online food orders and consumer goods in under an hour. This rapidity is facilitated by China’s extensive delivery workforce and the application of advanced algorithms in warehousing, mapping, and matching.
The new service—which spans categories like food, groceries, electronics, and clothing—represents an upgrade to Alibaba's original local delivery system, with order fulfillment managed by its food delivery arm, Ele.me.
Why It Matters: This move comes on the heels of Alibaba’s recent advancements in artificial intelligence. Earlier this week, Alibaba introduced Qwen 3, its most sophisticated AI model to date, featuring hybrid reasoning capabilities.
This development is part of a larger trend of Chinese tech giants aggressively investing in AI to expand their market share. Recently, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) lowered its AI model prices by nearly 80% to rival Alibaba and DeepSeek in China’s growing AI price war.
With consumer spending in China remaining sluggish, e-commerce growth has also decelerated, prompting major platform operators to intensify competition through consumer subsidies and enhanced services. Notably, Alibaba’s early launch of Taobao Instant Commerce underscores the company’s commitment to leveraging technology to enhance customer experience and stay ahead in the competitive market.
During Friday pre-market, ADR of JD.Com, Alibaba and Baidu climbed 4.6%, 3.97% and 2.68%, respectively, as Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated that it is assessing U.S. trade proposals and is open for talks.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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