A chef makes dumplings at a restaurant in Shanghai, China. While ultra-cheap deals may help delivery platforms lure users and grow their share in China’s US$80bil (RM335.67bil) food delivery market, they force restaurants into a trade-off that both drives business and undermines it. — Bloomberg
As Chinese consumers snag 14-cent coffees and 50-cent meals thanks to a fierce price war among food delivery platforms, restaurants and tea chains are counting the cost of vanishing footfalls.
The latest financial results of major listed restaurants, teahouses and cafes analysed by Bloomberg News show that aggressive online promotion campaigns took a toll on their businesses in the first half of the year, especially in the three months to June when the price war kicked off.
