People's Daily: Third Evaluation of the "Takeout War": Why "Collude" and What to "Collude"?

The article states that the essence of "internal competition" on platforms is the result of various factors such as changes in market structure, shifts in consumer behavior, internal driving forces and mechanisms of platform growth, and so on. With the premise of a homogenized market supply, if food delivery platforms collaborate with businesses to focus competition on the price level in order to quickly gain a competitive advantage in user scale, it will bring about management challenges for restaurant businesses: the doubling of orders will lead to drastic fluctuations in various aspects such as raw materials and manpower, posing management challenges. If they fail to adjust in a timely manner, it will result in high costs for businesses, leading to a situation where there is "increased quantity but not increased revenue"; on the other hand, competition at the price level does not force businesses to improve the quality or level of supply, which is not conducive to market innovation. In addition, platforms may also have poor consumer experiences due to insufficient preparation of their offline fulfillment teams, leading to consumer dissatisfaction and even public opinion. The "food delivery war" centered on price competition is not sustainable. Only by breaking free from the "low price trap," bidding farewell to "internal competition," and building a new balance centered on technological efficiency and institutional innovation can the high-quality development of the platform economy be achieved.