JD.com vs Alibaba: Full-Time Riders Shake Up Food Delivery

JD.com’s entry into China’s $81.9 billion food delivery market with a full-time delivery rider model marks a strategic departure from the gig economy model used by competitors like Alibaba’s Ele.me and Meituan.

JD plans to hire 150,000 full-time riders by the end of Q2 2025, aligning with its vertically integrated logistics strategy to ensure service consistency and customer satisfaction. This full-time employment approach reflects JD's traditional control-driven model—owning warehouses, managing delivery infrastructure, and ensuring quality across its supply chain. While Ele.me and Meituan rely on millions of part-time or freelance couriers, JD aims to differentiate through reliability, brand control, and operational integration.

Key Highlights

JD’s full-time rider strategy challenges Alibaba’s Ele.me gig model.
25M daily orders achieved since February 2025 launch.
JD’s expansion strains margins despite strong revenue growth.

Despite being a late entrant, JD has scaled to 25 million daily food orders, compared to Meituan’s 90 million and Ele.me’s 60 million. However, the model comes at a cost. JD’s Q1 2025 earnings showed 15.8% YoY revenue growth to 301.1 billion yuan ($41.8 billion), but profitability suffered due to high operational costs driven by this expansion.

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Analysts caution that JD’s bet on full-time staff may erode margins in an intensely competitive space where Alibaba and Meituan have already optimized for cost efficiency. Still, JD is banking on long-term brand trust, rural market penetration, and synergies with its existing logistics network to eventually outperform rivals.

JD.com’s approach signals a quality-versus-scale battle in the next phase of China’s food delivery war, reshaping consumer expectations in the process.