How many people's three meals a day are solved by relying on the takeaway platform? A few decades ago, the Internet was still something that people had never heard of, but now the degree of development of the Internet can allow everyone to solve the problem of food, clothing, housing and transportation without leaving home, and even some people also call Internet takeaway the "fifth invention" of the mainland.
Such a statement is slightly exaggerated, but it has to be said that there are really not a few people who choose to order takeout today. According to the data released by CNNIC, by the end of June 2021, the mainland already has 469 million online takeaway users, an increase of 49.76 million compared with the data at the end of 2020.
Moreover, the scale of online takeaway users has accounted for 46.4% of all netizens, which also means that about half of the netizens in the mainland have ordered takeaway.
Takeaway covers many aspects
Many people may not believe this data, but this is the case, and what everyone can't imagine is that the role of the takeaway platform today is not just as simple as "delivering food", in addition to the goods that can be delivered, flowers, household items, digital goods, etc., can all be delivered in the form of takeaway.
Even late-night medicine delivery can rely on takeaway. From the data point of view, the coverage of takeaway services is also very wide. Data previously released by the China Hotel Association shows that by 2020, the online catering market will already occupy more than 20% of the overall industry.
At the same time, the flash sale function of the Meituan platform can cover a more comprehensive type of goods, and according to the data released by it, in the second quarter of 2021, the transaction volume and transaction amount of this function have increased significantly year-on-year, with an increase of more than 140%.
The same is true for the other platform Ele.me, the data shows that in July and August 2021, the order volume of takeaway drugs on the Ele.me platform achieved a year-on-year increase of 130%, it is reported that Ele.me's "late night drug delivery" service covers more than 500 cities across the country, and the cooperative pharmacies are close to 5,000.
Combined with various points of view, today's takeaway is not as simple as delivering food, but has covered people's daily lives, which can be described as "miraculous". It is precisely because it provides so much convenience for people's lives that the number of takeaway users is growing day by day, and it also promotes the further development of the entire market.
The takeaway market is huge, and Meituan has the largest market share
According to the data of the China Commercial Industry Research Institute, as early as 2020, the market size of the mainland takeaway industry has reached 697.8 billion yuan, and according to its expectations, the size of this market will further reach 794.1 billion yuan in 2021, and the scale growth rate can even reach 13.8%.
At the same time, the number of takeaway-related enterprises is also growing, authoritative data show that in 2020, the number of related enterprises alone has achieved a year-on-year increase of 1389.64%, reaching 780,000. Of course, there is also the takeaway platform We are familiar with, Meituan.
Why talk about Meituan? Because in the entire market competition pattern of takeaway, the strength of the US group is higher. From the data point of view, 98% of the order volume of the entire takeaway industry is occupied by the three major takeaway platforms, and the market share of Meituan takeaway has reached 66.7%, becoming the well-deserved market share.
However, even if the market share is very high, there are many people who "don't like the eyes" of the MEITUAN and the entire takeaway industry, and many people think that the takeaway is "eating" the young people, such a "lazy economy" is not advisable, and even call for the cancellation of the MEITUan and the cancellation of takeaway.
So, once the US group, and even the entire takeaway industry are closed, the impact on society, is the benefit more than the disadvantage, or the disadvantage is greater than the benefit?
What happens if I turn off takeaway?
Let's look at the drawbacks first. First of all, the scale of mainland takeaway users is close to 470 million, and once the takeaway is completely closed, it will inevitably have a certain impact on these 470 million people.
At the same time, the vast majority of takeaway business performance will be significantly lost, Meituan takeaway data show that by the end of the second quarter of 2021, the number of active merchants owned by the platform has reached 7.7 million, if you add other takeaway platforms, the number of merchants will only be more, once there is no takeaway, the decline in business volume is inevitable, and such a large-scale decline, it is even possible to make the entire catering industry "sluggish".
Finally, the closure of takeaway platforms will cause a sharp increase in the number of unemployed. The data shows that the number of mainland takeaway riders shows a growing trend, and has now reached 7.7 million people, without which more than 7 million people are directly unemployed, and the impact on society is immeasurable.
Of course, there may also be some benefits to closing the takeaway, for example, because of the platform mechanism problem, the increase in the number of traffic accidents caused by takeaway riders is also common in recent years, and perhaps the only advantage of not having takeaway is that there is no dangerous driving takeaway rider on the road. From this point of view, closing takeaway may be "more harmful than beneficial".
In any case, in disguise, the existence of takeaway has changed the lives of many people, and even saved cooking time and improved efficiency for everyone in disguise, which seems to contribute to the whole society. If it really wants to be closed, it may not be agreed by the merchant, customers and riders.
Do you think takeaway should be closed? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section.