By all appearances, JD.com kicked off 2025 with a financial win. Its Q1 revenue jumped nearly 16% year-on-year (YoY) to RMB 301.1 billion (USD 41.5 billion), while net income surged 52.7% to RMB 10.9 billion (USD 1.5 billion). But the bigger story lies in where JD is heading, not just what it’s earning.
In February, the e-commerce giant ventured into food delivery, boldly aiming to carve out space in China’s fiercely competitive on-demand meal market. While the move pits it against entrenched players like Meituan and Ele.me, it also follows in the footsteps of other tech giants like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, both of which previously explored lifestyle services with mixed results.
By comparison, JD’s current push appears more coordinated. According to internal accounts, JD Daojia, the company’s local services arm, reached out to restaurant operators in late 2024 with a clear message: food delivery is now a strategic focus, backed by founder Richard Liu himself.
Robust logistics and infrastructure
“JD has the right strength, culture, and advantage to address such opportunities,” the company wrote in its latest earnings report, pointing to its extensive fulfillment network and promise to stick to fair pricing with its self-imposed “35-cents” principle that insists on only reasonable margins.
JD isn’t building this from scratch. The delivery initiative taps directly into its existing infrastructure, from warehouses that store perishables to a last-mile network honed by years of e-commerce growth. Executives say this logistics backbone enables “synergetic effects” across JD’s business, from local product sourcing to user engagement and retention.
That’s critical because competition in the food delivery space hinges on speed, reliability, and price, which are all areas where JD can lean on its operational playbook. The platform’s motto of “better and cheaper” may resonate especially well in a market where customers are increasingly value-sensitive and merchants are looking for lower commission rates.
The broader supply chain upgrade is bearing fruit across JD’s segments. JD Retail saw its operating margin rise to 4.9% from 4.1% YoY, signaling improved efficiency and stronger cost management. Meanwhile, JD Logistics, while posting a lower margin of 0.3%, continued its international push with new cargo routes to Southeast Asia and additional warehouses in Europe, signaling its ambition to challenge global players.
A new battleground
Food delivery, like all platform businesses, relies on two key factors: merchants and consumers. But unlike e-commerce or group buying, it also hinges on fulfillment capabilities, an area where JD.com has a critical advantage. As of 2023, Dada Nexus, JD’s logistics affiliate, had 1.2 million active delivery riders, significantly fewer than Meituan’s 7.45 million. Nonetheless, JD’s infrastructure is capable of supporting high-frequency orders, which helps achieve economies of scale and maintain operational viability.
Another element working in JD’s favor: its people. The company now directly or indirectly employs around 700,000 personnel and is the first platform in China to offer full social insurance and housing fund coverage for its full-time delivery riders. Part-time riders also reportedly receive accident and health coverage. It’s a forward-looking labor policy that could help JD attract and retain a dependable, motivated delivery workforce. This constitutes an often-overlooked but critical component of service quality in the food delivery space.
Meanwhile, JD’s Q1 2025 report shows that user sentiment is trending upward. CEO Sandy Xu cited strong user growth as a sign of trust and mindshare, two intangible assets that matter just as much as logistics precision when customers are choosing where to order lunch.
Merchant response was swift. When JD announced its zero-commission policy in February, service providers and internal teams scrambled to onboard restaurants. Some teams even recruited hundreds of street-level sales reps within days. In many cities, the rollout took on the intensity of a land grab, mirroring earlier platform expansions by Meituan and Ele.me.
But such rapid expansion also led to onboarding issues. JD’s merchant backend was adapted from its grocery interface, requiring dish listings to include weight measurements and standardized categories—ill-suited for restaurant operations. Some merchants expressed confusion, while others reported receiving little post-onboarding support from service providers.
There’s also strategic coherence in JD’s launch timing. In parallel to its food delivery push, the company is rolling out a RMB 200 billion (USD 28 billion) export-to-domestic sales program aimed at bringing high-quality, cost-effective goods meant for overseas markets into Chinese homes. In essence, JD is turning border fluidity into a customer value proposition, whether that’s with imported cosmetics, smartwatches, or now, hot meals delivered in under 30 minutes.
Still, success is far from guaranteed. JD is stepping into a saturated market where rivals have long embedded themselves into daily consumer behavior. Meituan, for instance, delivers over 40 million meals per day and offers a comprehensive ecosystem that JD will be hard-pressed to replicate quickly.
Yet JD’s leadership is betting on integration, not imitation. Its food delivery service is unlikely to be a one-off project. Rather, it’s seemingly an anchor for a more fluid, omnichannel model of commerce. From health services powered by artificial intelligence to hyperlocal fulfillment initiatives, the company’s strategy centers on capturing everyday transactions that blend online ease with offline immediacy.
Taken together, these moves suggest JD sees a future where the boundaries between e-commerce, logistics, and services are increasingly blurred. In this model, delivering a hot meal is just another extension of the same system that’s already dropping off smartphones, diapers, and detergent.
If JD can continue scaling its logistics advantage while managing competitive pressure, it could move from late entrant to key player, redefining what leadership looks like in China’s omnichannel market.