Flash sales are widening the gap in activity between Taobao and Pinduoduo, and affordable takeout will continue to be available.

It is understood that Taobao Flash Sale has recently made it clear that takeaway will enter a long-term battle. After the beginning of autumn on August 8, the order volume of Taobao Flash Sale exceeded Meituan for the first time. A more significant impact may be that the huge subsidies have attracted a lot of attention to Taobao, and since July, Taobao has widened the gap in daily active users with Pinduoduo. Subsidies will not, and cannot, continue at the current intensity. According to internal sources at Alibaba, heavy subsidies are called "going uphill", and now it is time to "go down." In July, Taobao Flash Sale spent over 10 billion yuan in subsidies on the merchant side, consumer side, and delivery side. The Alibaba decision-making level is discussing the pace of subsidy reduction, focusing on operating high-value users, adjusting subsidy categories, and subsidy amounts. It is understood that Alibaba's company anniversary celebration on September 10 will be an important milestone, determining more business rhythms and strategies, continuing to pursue and target Meituan in terms of basic capabilities under the overarching strategy of "big consumption platform."