Introduction:JD.com’s app recently launched a “Coffee & Tea” section under its “Instant Delivery” service, featuring a promotion of free delivery for orders over 9.9 yuan. In addition to well-known chain brands such as Luckin, Cotti Coffee, and Tim Hortons, the selection also includes fast food merchants like Burger King and Yonghe King. The product range has gradually expanded from beverages to light meals. This move marks an important strategic push by JD.com into the instant retail and delivery market, especially by attracting users through high-frequency consumables and enhancing platform stickiness. This article explores its strategy and highlights of the service.

In recent years, consumers have become accustomed to ordering coffee and tea through platforms like Meituan or Ele.me, not only for convenience but also because these platforms often offer more favorable delivery options. For example, when ordering from Luckin, using the brand’s official app may incur a delivery fee of 3 to 6 yuan, whereas delivery platforms frequently provide free delivery promotions.

However, JD.com’s app has quietly introduced a “Coffee & Tea” section under its “Instant Delivery” service, with free delivery for orders over 9.9 yuan as its main selling point, quickly catching attention. This new feature offers another convenient option for users who want their drinks quickly—especially on busy workdays when they don’t want to pick up orders in person—allowing them to easily satisfy their “life-saving” caffeine needs via their smartphones.

Notably, although the section is primarily focused on coffee and tea, it has already incorporated fast food brands such as Burger King and Yonghe King, indicating that its product category is gradually expanding from just beverages to the fast food domain. Additionally, the “Speed Save” discount coupons offered on the page are quite similar to the “god coupons” found on other platforms, providing extra shopping incentives.

JD PLUS members can enjoy special benefits, including inviting friends to get a free cup of coffee. Currently, the platform has gathered a variety of popular brands such as Luckin, Cotti Coffee, Tims, Cha Bai Xi Ji, Uncle No Name Tea, and NOWWA Coffee, offering a diverse selection.

For delivery, most orders are handled by Dada Now, with a small portion delivered directly by the merchants. The official claim is that some stores can achieve “delivery in as fast as 9 minutes,” though in practice, most stores still manage to deliver within 30 minutes—an appealing option for speed-seeking users.

JD.com’s ambition to enter the delivery market is not a recent development. As early as June 2022, then JD Retail CEO Xin Lijun revealed that the company was evaluating the possibility of entering the food delivery business, emphasizing that it would depend on team setup and capability adjustments. Subsequently, in May 2024, JD upgraded its existing instant retail services to “JD Instant Delivery,” highlighting “delivery in as fast as 9 minutes” to underscore its focus on speed and efficiency.

On September 17, Dada Group announced that JD.com had successfully acquired the shares of Dada held by a subsidiary of Walmart, increasing its stake to 63.2%. Dada, as a major domestic local instant retail and delivery platform, was founded in Shanghai in 2014 and went public on the NASDAQ in 2020. Its service network and rider resources have become crucial support for JD’s expansion in the instant delivery sector.

According to public data, Dada Group operates a vast delivery network, with nearly 1.3 million active riders annually and cumulative registered riders reaching tens of millions. It has also integrated its previous services such as “JD Hourly Delivery” and “JD Daojia” under the unified new brand “JD Instant Delivery” for consumers.

Industry analysts note that JD’s launch of the 9.9 yuan free delivery “Coffee & Tea” section is clearly a subsidy-driven strategy to attract users, enhance user loyalty, and further encroach on market share previously dominated by Meituan Delivery. Although many users are familiar with Dada delivery, most have not yet realized that the JD app itself also offers a diverse range of delivery services.

The core of this strategy is to focus on categories such as coffee and tea—products with stable demand, high consumption frequency, and essential appeal. By using aggressive subsidies, JD aims to establish a strong consumer mindshare for the platform. In the future, once users develop habits of using the platform, JD is expected to further explore their purchasing potential in other product categories and expand the possibilities of instant retail even further.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.