The social security problem of millions of riders has not been solved, and the takeaway platform has encountered a "new problem".
On February 18, the National Development and Reform Commission and 14 other departments jointly issued a notice on several policies to promote the recovery and development of difficult industries in the service industry. One of them pointed out that it is required to guide Internet platform enterprises such as takeaway to further reduce the service fee standards of merchants in the catering industry and reduce the operating costs of relevant catering enterprises.
The news was released, and meituan (03690. HK) shares suddenly fell sharply, falling more than 17% at one point, and the closing market value of the day evaporated by more than HK$200 billion. Ele.me's parent company Alibaba Hong Kong stock (09988. HK) also fell 2.85 percent that day, and U.S. stocks (BABA.US) also fell 4.37 percent that night.
Merchant service fees, commonly known as "commissions", are directly related to the profits of takeaway platforms and have always been the most controversial part between takeaway platforms and merchants.
In May 2021, Meituan and Ele.me both implemented rate reforms, no longer using the original one-price commission extraction method, but split into technical service fees and performance service fees.
But what about the tweaks? On February 20, Red Star Capital Interviewed a number of catering merchants. Wang Zhi, a merchant in Shanghai, said: "In fact, the platform extracts more than just the little commission on the surface. Xu Gang, a merchant in Chengdu, also mentioned: "On the surface, the commission has been reduced from the previous 20% to 6.2%, a big drop. But the platform will add weight from elsewhere. ”
Red Star Capital Found that complex service fee calculation rules and a variety of promotional expenditures for activities have made catering merchants have "complaints", but in the end, it is still consumers who pay for these.
14 departments jointly issued a document to guide the takeaway platform to reduce commissions
The stock prices of the two giants of Meituan and Ali plummeted
At about 3 p.m. on February 18, near the close of the Hong Kong stock market, Meituan (03690. HK) shares suddenly fell sharply, falling more than 17% at one point, refreshing the new low of the stock price in nearly a year.
The bearish news related to the "meituan Hong Kong stock dive" comes from the release of a regulatory policy.
Just a few minutes before meituan's stock price plunged, 14 departments, including the National Development and Reform Commission, jointly issued a notice on several policies on promoting the recovery and development of difficult industries in the service sector. One of them pointed out that it is required to guide Internet platform enterprises such as takeaway to further reduce the service fee standards of merchants in the catering industry and reduce the operating costs of relevant catering enterprises.
Keywords such as "takeaway platform" and "service fee standard for merchants in the catering industry" have focused the market attention on the two major Internet takeaway platforms - Meituan and Ele.me. Red Star Capital Bureau noted that not only Meituan, but also Ele.me's parent company Alibaba Hong Kong stock also fell sharply at the same time, with the largest decline of 3.42%.
As of the close of trading on the 18th, Meituan closed at HK$188 per share, down 14.86%, and the daily market value evaporated by more than HK$200 billion. Ele.me's parent company, Alibaba's Hong Kong stock, fell 2.85 percent, and U.S. stocks also fell 4.37 percent that night.
Why is the "reduction of service fees for merchants in the catering industry" having such a big impact?
In the words of Meituan: "Takeaway is a business that connects users, merchants and riders, and it is also a low-profit business, which mainly relies on commissions to support operations, and the cost is mostly the rider's salary." ”
Hungry does not have a separate split of the financial report. But in the case of Meituan, the business is roughly divided into three parts: catering takeaway, arrival, hotel and tourism, as well as new business and others. Food and beverage takeaway revenue is an important part of Meituan's revenue, and the commission paid by merchants on orders generated on its platform is undoubtedly the largest part of its revenue.
This can also be seen from the financial report: Meituan's 2021 third quarter report shows that the total revenue of this quarter is 48.83 billion yuan, of which commission income is 29.56 billion yuan, supporting half of the revenue. The bulk of the entire commission income comes from catering takeaways, with an amount of 23.22 billion yuan accounting for 80% of the commission income.
In simple terms, the "commission" is directly related to the profit of the takeaway platform. The voice of the market believes that with the release of regulatory policies, takeaway platforms must give up part of their profits, and it is not difficult to understand the bearishness.
As of the close of trading on February 21, Meituan Hong Kong stocks still maintained a downward trend, closing down 3.99% at HK$180.5 per share, a new low in 52 weeks. Alibaba's Hong Kong stocks also fell, closing down 3.85% at HK$114.9 per share.
In May last year, the two platforms changed the rules of commissioning
Merchants: It seems to be lower, but it is actually more expensive
In fact, commissions have always been the most controversial part of takeaway platforms and merchants.
As early as the beginning of 2020, the catering associations in Chongqing, Hebei, Yunnan and other places issued articles to "denounce" the METUAN, pointing out the problem of high commissions.
By April 2020, 33 catering associations in Guangdong Province jointly issued the "Joint Negotiation Letter to Meituan Takeaway", which mentioned that the commission rate of Meituan takeaway continued to grow, from 1.1% in 2015 to 12.6%, and the commission of newly opened catering merchants reached a maximum of 26%, which has greatly exceeded the critical point endured by the majority of catering merchants.
A week later, Meituan Takeaway responded to the matter: "More than 80% of merchant commissions are between 10% and 20%, and the real number is much lower than the rumors." At present, the average profit per takeaway is less than 2 cents per order, and most of the platform's income needs to be invested in professional distribution, order acquisition and digital construction. ”
This incident also promoted the "rate transparency reform" of Meituan takeaway a year later. Red Star Capital Bureau has reported that in May 2021, Meituan Takeaway implemented a new rate model, no longer using the original one-price commission extraction method, but split into technical service fees and performance service fees. At about the same time, Ele.me also announced the pilot "rate transparency", which was also split into technical service fees and performance technical service fees.
Meituan emphasized: "The direct commission reduction, although simple, but unsustainable, structural fee adjustment can make the entire takeaway ecology develop in a more win-win and healthier direction." ”
But what about the tweaks? On February 20, Red Star Capital Interviewed a number of catering merchants. Xu Gang (pseudonym) runs a small restaurant in Chengdu, and like most businesses, he launched two major takeaway platforms, Meituan and Ele.me, at the beginning of the store. "After the rate adjustment last year, it seems to be lowered on the surface, but it is actually more expensive," Xu Gang said.
Xu Gang showed the Red Star Capital Bureau the rules for meituan's takeaway service fees, in which the "technical service fee" column showed the words "commission ratio of 6.2%". He said: "On the surface, the commission has been reduced from the previous 20% to 6.2%, which is a big drop, but the platform will increase from other places. ”
Where do you add weight from? Xu Gang took out a screenshot of the order of the Meituan takeaway on the same day as an example: this single customer actually paid 27.36 yuan, the technical service fee was 1.51 yuan, the performance service fee was 3.55 yuan, and the environmental protection donation was 0.02 yuan. According to meituan, with these two parts drawn, Xu Gang should have reached 22.28 yuan, but the Meituan takeaway background shows that Xu Gang actually got 19.24 yuan, so where did the difference of 3.04 yuan go?
"Where did the $3.04 go?" I myself am confused, if I don't look at it carefully, I don't know where the money has been deducted. Xu Gang said.
Red Star Capital found that the difference of 3.04 yuan was the same as the amount of "delivery fee" on another page. That is to say, Xu Gang's single order was actually taken away from the three items of "delivery fee + technical service fee + performance service fee", accounting for 29.7% of the order amount, far higher than the 20% fixed rate before the "reform".
Such complex rate rules confuse merchants. Xu Gang confessed to the Red Star Capital Bureau: "This rule is not something you can understand by asking two questions, and even for our catering merchants, the new merchants can't understand it in a short period of time." ”
Takeaway merchants continue to "complain" about commissions
In the end, it is the consumer who pays
Also confused about the rate rules of the takeaway platform is Wang Zhi (pseudonym), the owner of a restaurant in Shanghai.
"People who have not done catering takeaway may think that the platform can accept these few dollars, but in fact, the platform extracts more than the little commission on the surface." Wang Zhi said.
Wang Zhi showed the red star capital bureau the charging rules of the Ele.me takeaway platform, including: hummingbird express delivery + technical service fee + performance technical service fee. In the technical service fee column, the commission rate is marked as "20.50%". Wang Zhi said: "This kind of drawing method looks low, only the merchant is clear, after adding the time period and distance, it is actually higher." ”
Wang Zhi took out an example of the order of the Hungry Mo platform on the 20th: "For example, this Mao Blood Wang, the customer actually paid 31.7 yuan, the platform service fee was 6.39 yuan, and I only got 19.41 yuan." "Red Star Capital Bureau found that the actual amount paid by the customer minus the platform service fee, compared with the amount of the merchant's arrival, there is a difference of 5.9 yuan in the middle." Wang Zhi also mentioned: "Meituan even hides the actual amount paid by customers, which need to be clicked into the page to see, and it will not be carefully calculated when busy." ”
How is the $19.41 earned income calculated? Wang Zhi explained: "This kind of withdrawal method has nothing to do with how much the guest actually pays, only related to product pricing and the size of the promotion." The Red Star Capital Bureau found that the total amount of this Mao Blood Wang was 58.79 yuan, of which the merchant activity expenditure column was subtracted by 32.99 yuan, and then subtracted from the platform service fee of 6.39 yuan, which was Wang Zhi's income.
"On the surface, the commission service fee is only marked with 5.29 yuan, but in fact, it is higher, and the platform is changing the law to draw commissions from the merchant side," Wang Zhi said.
This statement can also be confirmed by the financial report data of the US group. Red Star Capital Bureau found that in the third quarter of 2020 before the reform, Meituan's catering takeaway commission income was 18.25 billion yuan, the number of completed orders was 3.49 billion, and the average commission income per order was 5.23 yuan. In the third quarter of 2021 after the reform, the takeaway commission income was 23.22 billion yuan, the number of completed orders was 4.36 billion, and the average commission income per order was 5.32 yuan, which was about 0.1 yuan higher than the same period last year.
The small growth in the financial report, falling on the head of every merchant, is more than just a number. Wang Zhi counted: "Platform member red envelope merchants out of the big head, reduced delivery fee activities merchants out of all, meituan has a tiantian god brokerage home out of 3 yuan, inflated red envelope merchants out of 5 yuan, hungry foodie red envelope merchants also have to pay 3-4 yuan." That is to say, the "benefits" that consumers seem to get from the platform are borne by merchants behind them.
In addition to the activity expenditure, Wang Zhi's store also spends money to do promotion: "The promotion fee of the 2 platforms is about 300 yuan per day, and if I don't promote my order, I will be cut off." ”
Complicated service fee calculation rules and a large number of promotional expenditures for activities have made catering merchants have "complaints", but in the end, it is still consumers who pay for these.
Wang Zhi said frankly that in this context, in order to ensure profits, the pricing of meals by merchants will only become higher and higher, and the intensity of activities will become larger and larger. Xu Gang also said that the profit of merchants is less, they will find ways to reduce their own costs, which leads to higher and higher prices of meals, but the quality cannot be guaranteed.
As for whether the rate will be reduced in the future, Wang Zhi and Xu Gang have the same concern: "The rate reduction will reduce our costs in the short term, but will the platform find it back through other means?" ”
Red Star News reporter Yu Yao Qiang Ya Milling
Edited by Yu Dongmei
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