Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan (美團) said that it would cut commissions for some small and medium-sized merchants nearly two weeks after new government guidelines asked food-delivery platforms to lower fees for restaurants in regions hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing-based Meituan is to cut 50 percent of the technical service fee for small and medium-sized merchants in pandemic-affected areas whose daily average user transaction volume has fallen by more than 30 percent.
In a statement on Tuesday, the company said that it would also cap the technical service fee for each order at 1 yuan (US$0.16) after the discount.
Photo: Reuters
Meituan has been grappling with regulatory and public scrutiny on multiple fronts, including its market power, the welfare of delivery riders and the size of commissions it charges restaurants, although the company has said that its margins on takeouts are slim.
The company has been among the targets of Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on the tech sector.
Shares of Meituan yesterday advanced 1.73 percent in Hong Kong trading, with analysts saying that the fee changes would have a limited effect on its business.
The rate cuts would be temporary and dynamic, rather than permanent reductions across the board, as feared by some investors, Credit Suisse analyst Kenneth Fong (方錦聰) said in a note.
Meituan would keep the lower fees until one month after the designation of the areas being medium and high risk is lifted. For merchants who face business difficulties in other regions, it would cap the technical service fee at 5 percent until the end of December.
Rival Ele.me (餓了麼), owned by Alibaba Group Holding Co (阿里巴巴), followed suit by saying that it would cut or waive commissions for merchants in areas hit by COVID-19 for at least 15 days, committing 20 million yuan to the effort.
Separately, a Chinese top court yesterday outlined delivery companies’ responsibilities when it comes to consumer protection.
For example, delivery companies are required to inspect restaurants’ food sale qualifications, and they are to be held accountable for resolving disputes between food suppliers and customers from March 15, the court said.
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