Douyin's takeout delivery service is adjusting again: Betting on quality as the new battleground, launching an AI assistant to explore food options.

Currently, the "subsidy war" in the food delivery market is in full swing, and Douyin is quietly making moves, continuously adjusting its food delivery business layout. According to the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily," Douyin Life Services has made major adjustments to its merchant access rules, changing from being fully open to being invite-only, with a clear requirement that invitation targets must be quality merchants. The evaluation criteria cover multiple dimensions, including whether they have dining services, fulfillment experience, sales performance, and brand influence. Taking Douyin's "" (random group) as an example, they have a strict store evaluation system for quality merchants who have been invited to participate. Stores that violate qualifications, do not have dining services, appear to be closed, or have poor fulfillment experiences, are all unable to open services. It is worth noting that, unlike traditional food delivery platforms like Meituan and Ele.me, Douyin has not established its own business operations or delivery fulfillment system. Douyin's "" is "double sales" - after users purchase group coupons, they can choose to redeem them in-store or have them delivered to their homes. This model continues Douyin's DNA of short video content for influencing consumer behavior and expands consumer scenarios through delivery services. This move undoubtedly shows that Douyin's food delivery is attempting to build differentiation and competitiveness on the foundation of high-quality merchant resources. In addition, Douyin has been very active in product innovation. Recently, Douyin launched the AI product "" (Food Explorer), which meets user needs such as searching, food evaluation, ordering, purchasing group coupons, and placing food delivery orders, providing users with a one-stop experience from exploring to ordering. For example, when a user asks, "Where are the best local restaurants," "" not only quickly lists nearby relevant restaurants but also provides detailed recommendations. If the user is having trouble deciding, the "PK" (Compare Stores) function comes in handy, allowing users to compare and contrast stores based on various dimensions such as scenarios, features, recommended dishes, strengths, and weaknesses. After selecting a store, users can directly jump to the merchant details page, view recommended dishes, reviews, discounts, etc., and even use the map to find the store or navigate using Amap. In 2022, Douyin partnered with Ele.me to first test water in the food delivery business in Nanjing, launching the group buying delivery service in early 2023, relying on third-party delivery platforms such as SF INTRA-CITY, Flash Express, and Dada to fulfill orders. In June of the same year, Douyin adjusted its business strategy for food delivery, focusing on packages worth more than 60 yuan, attempting to avoid direct confrontation with traditional food delivery platforms like Meituan and Ele.me and instead opting for a differentiated competition route. However, the development of Douyin's food delivery business has not been smooth sailing. In 2024, its internal positioning experienced multiple twists and turns. First, it was moved from life services to e-commerce business, then in June it was integrated into Douyin's home delivery platform and launched the "hourly delivery" section, but after only two months, in August, it returned to the life services business line. Until November, Douyin upgraded its original group buying delivery business to "," allowing users to purchase group coupons and choose between in-store redemption and home delivery, gradually transitioning its business to "." On May 21 of this year, Douyin food delivery made another major adjustment, announcing that it will gradually remove old food delivery mini-programs starting from June 5, 2025, and provide refunds for undelivered orders. If merchants wish to continue operating, they must switch to the model. This means that will be the only choice for merchants to conduct food delivery business within Douyin in the future. Yan Han, Vice Chairman of the China Restaurant Association Food Delivery Professional Committee and co-founder of Suan Tou Food Delivery, commented in an interview with the "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" that Douyin's advantage lies in stimulating instant consumption impulses through content, but in the past, due to limitations in delivery capabilities, transactions mostly remained at in-store group buying. The upgrade of '' combines content flow with instant delivery to create a closed loop. In Yan Han's view, the frequent adjustments in Douyin's food delivery business are influenced by several factors. From an industry perspective, the barriers to entry in the food delivery market are extremely high, with established platforms like Meituan and Ele.me having deep roots and mature delivery networks, as well as cultivating steady consumer habits. New entrants looking to get a piece of the pie need to invest significant resources to break through the existing landscape. "From Douyin's perspective, its strategic positioning and resource allocation influence the direction of its business." Yan Han further analyzed to the reporter, stating that the heavy reliance on instant delivery in the food delivery business has exposed the shortcomings of Douyin's early asset-light model. Overly dependent on third-party logistics, it is difficult to provide reliable guarantees in terms of fulfillment efficiency and user experience, necessitating adjustments. This article is sourced from "" and edited by GMTEight: Liu Xuan.