---
title: "Community Discount Competition Intensifies: Meituan and JD.com Clash in Beijing's Suburbs"
description: "Meituan's 'Happy Monkey' and JD.com's 'JD Discount Supermarket' have opened their first Beijing stores within 1.5 kilometers of each other in Mentougou, sparking a community retail battle. Both internet giants leverage their unique strengths—Meituan's instant retail network and JD's supply chain—to compete in the discount supermarket space, reflecting a broader industry shift towards value and efficiency."
author: "楚勿留香"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2025-11-18"
categories: "E-commerce & Instant Retail, Retail Formats"
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citation: "楚勿留香. “Community Discount Competition Intensifies: Meituan and JD.com Clash in Beijing's Suburbs.” New Distribution, 2025-11-18. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/community-discount-competition-intensifies-meituan-and-jd-com-clash-in-b-799579b5/"
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---

# Community Discount Competition Intensifies: Meituan and JD.com Clash in Beijing's Suburbs

> Meituan's 'Happy Monkey' and JD.com's 'JD Discount Supermarket' have opened their first Beijing stores within 1.5 kilometers of each other in Mentougou, sparking a community retail battle. Both internet giants leverage their unique strengths—Meituan's instant retail network and JD's supply chain—to compete in the discount supermarket space, reflecting a broader industry shift towards value and efficiency.

### **Source** | Lingshou **ID** | lingshouke Author | Chu Wuliu Xiang
**"Face-to-Face Showdown"**
Both community retail formats, both Beijing first stores, about 1.5 kilometers apart—Meituan and JD.com's brands, "Happy Monkey" and "JD Discount Supermarket," are clashing in Mentougou, Beijing.
In the basement level of Xishan Hui Shopping Center in Mentougou, a JD Discount Supermarket of about 5,000 square meters is under renovation for its Beijing debut, and it is also hiring for multiple positions including cashiers, pickers, bakers, and food service technicians. It is expected to officially open in mid-December.
About 1.5 kilometers away, Meituan's self-operated "Happy Monkey" store at Shangtou Plaza is already bustling with customers. This is Happy Monkey's first Beijing store, which officially opened on October 24, and it is also Meituan's fifth store opened within two months.
Earlier, on October 17, a Happy Monkey store opened at Fuding Center in Sanhe City, which, though close to Beijing, is under Hebei Province.
Both brands are "newcomers": Happy Monkey's first store opened on August 29 at Daguan Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou; JD Discount Supermarket's first store opened on August 16 at Junyue Plaza, Zhuozhou, Hebei, attracting 60,000 customers on its opening day and triggering crowd control measures due to overwhelming traffic.
From a retail perspective, these two internet giants are "face-to-face" in Beijing's western suburbs: one focuses on online instant retail with small, high-frequency stores; the other deepens supply chain with large stores to attract customers.
A five-minute drive apart, with different logics but on the same track, they have ignited a "community supermarket" alley fight in Mentougou, an area once overlooked commercially.
The retail industry and media are paying attention to these two internet giants entering the community retail space because it could significantly impact existing retail formats and structures, potentially heralding a restructuring of the retail order.
Professor Chen Liping from Capital University of Economics and Business holds a particularly representative view. He believes that whether it's Meituan's Happy Monkey, JD Discount Supermarket, or Hema's Super He Suan, they can rapidly iterate and evolve with the support of their entire internet company systems. These internet giants have financial strength, global resources, advanced concepts, and efficient operations—all things traditional retail enterprises lack or do not possess.
From another perspective, if internet giants fully mobilize all resources and are determined to do "community retail," the impact on most traditional retail enterprises is self-evident.
Although they have global purchasing power, algorithms, and traffic portals, whether they can truly revitalize offline stores is the key to success or failure.
**E-commerce Peaks, Discounts Emerge**
In 2024, China's e-commerce penetration rate fell from 27.6% in 2023 to 26.8%, and in the first eight months of 2025, it remained around 25%.
The so-called e-commerce penetration rate typically refers to the proportion of online retail sales of physical goods in total retail sales of consumer goods for the same period.
In the internet industry, the decline in e-commerce penetration is seen as a signal of "growth peaking," but in the eyes of economists, it is a sign of retail structure maturity.
Wang Wei, an expert in commercial real estate and retail asset management, argued in an article in Caijing magazine that from a structural economics perspective, this "stagnation" is not a recession signal but a sign of a mature consumer society—it means China's consumption structure is undergoing a profound transformation: from a "commodity society" to a "service society," from "transaction-driven" to "experience-driven."
That is, when online dividends peak, offline experience and efficiency become new growth pillars. "When an economy shifts from a commodity society to a service society, retail is no longer a battlefield of transactions but a contest of experience and efficiency."
In other words, the end of e-commerce dividends makes offline important again. Consumers are returning to communities and physical stores. After three years of the pandemic, "rational consumption" and "value for money" have become the main themes.
The rise of discount formats is a result of this structural shift. When traffic dividends dry up and customer acquisition costs remain high, only by returning to efficiency can retail, with its razor-thin margins, grow anew.
However, some argue that "lack of money" may be the true underlying driver behind the rise of hard discount stores.
Discount stores are not a new concept; they have existed in China for decades. Why has hard discount become mainstream in the past two years, with store numbers surging, giants entering, and frequent media coverage?
Because ordinary consumers' income growth has slowed, rigid expenditures have risen, and asset depreciation expectations have compounded, shifting consumer mentality from "pursuing better" to "avoiding waste."
When income uncertainty becomes the norm, discount consumption is no longer a last resort but a rational choice.
In the past, when China's economy was booming, the call for consumption upgrades was loud, and people were eager to pay for brands, design, and emotional value. Now, with the economy in a "new normal," "tightening belts" has become the choice for more people.
In other words, the economic "new normal" is the key to the rise of this round of hard discount stores.
But for JD and Meituan themselves, community supermarkets are strategic tools to address growth bottlenecks and open up a second growth curve.
JD's core advantage lies in its nationwide warehousing and logistics system and mature product sourcing and sales capabilities. JD must find new outlets for its powerful supply chain to reach consumers more frequently. Discount stores, especially the large-store model, serve as offline display centers and front warehouses for its commodity circulation efficiency.
Zhang Tie, in a Lianshang column analysis, believes that JD is trying to "establish differentiated competitive barriers through the large-store model." Its 5,000-square-meter store with over 5,000 SKUs is essentially a "compressed warehouse supermarket," aiming to create a "one-stop shopping" consumer mindset, directly monetizing its supply chain capabilities.
Meituan's core is local life services, and its strategy revolves around building a business loop of high-frequency driving low-frequency around "food." It also needs to build a physical moat for its "traffic pool."
Meituan has natural advantages in community supermarkets, such as years of deep cultivation in catering, hotel, and travel businesses, high market share, and a large accumulation of consumer data. Especially, Xiaoxiang Supermarket and Meituan Flash Purchase have become formidable players in the instant retail market.
Happy Monkey is not just a supermarket; it is a crucial high-frequency traffic entry point and precise fulfillment node in Meituan's instant retail system. Its existence aims to feed the order density of its Flash Purchase business, consolidate its dominance in the "30-minute living circle," and achieve an ecosystem loop of "delivering everything."
For giants, discounts are not just a defensive move against economic cycles but also a proactive transformation of channel sinking and structural reshaping.
**Meituan and JD Each Have Advantages**
Whether it's Meituan or JD, choosing Mentougou for their Beijing first stores is not accidental.
Here, rent and labor costs are much lower than in the city center, but the consumer spending power is not weak; it can radiate to commuters in Shijingshan and Haidian, and also cover mature families in the old city.
More importantly—this area has not yet been fully occupied by strong retail enterprises.
JD's large-store logic is "big store, big product range," using supply chain to crush costs. With 4,000-6,000 square meters of space and 5,000 SKUs, focusing on fresh produce, daily chemicals, grain and oil, and snacks, its format is between warehouse membership stores and community supermarkets.
It is not "new retail" like Hema, but a "low-price model" with extreme supply chain efficiency.
First, supply chain-driven. Relying on its nationwide self-operated system, direct sourcing from origins, and integrated warehousing and distribution, it compresses intermediate links from factory to store.
For example, the Qixian series products in JD discount stores come from its own supply chain, with direct sourcing ratios for fruits, vegetables, and daily fresh products exceeding 60%.
Second, brand bargaining. JD uses its platform scale to bargain in reverse. When brands have inventory pressure on e-commerce, discount supermarkets become an outlet for "inventory clearance." "This is redirecting the surplus supply chain capacity from online to offline," noted a retail analyst.
Third, offline warehousing. JD Discount Supermarket shares inventory with JD Daojia and JD Speed, enabling "order online, ship from store" with 30-minute delivery. The store serves as both a sales point, fulfillment warehouse, and showroom.
The large-store model implies higher requirements for sales per square meter, but it also means differentiated barriers. From another perspective, what JD wants is not just profit but the ultimate validation of supply chain efficiency.
Discount stores are not isolated businesses but key pieces embedded in their respective ecosystems for mutual empowerment.
JD Discount Supermarket carries the dual function of "offline experience + instant retail front warehouse." Through stores, JD can acquire online traffic from its main site at lower costs and achieve "30-minute delivery."
This "store-warehouse integration" model can reduce fulfillment costs, but it needs to solve the problem of product differences between online and offline, and also balance online and offline—a challenge JD must address.
Meituan's "Happy Monkey" is a small-store philosophy, the warmth of fresh produce.
Happy Monkey's Mentougou store is only 1,000 square meters with 1,000-1,500 SKUs—but customer traffic is astonishing. Over 20,000 people visited on its opening day.
The store layout is very "down-to-earth": fresh produce and household items on the left, daily chemicals and standard products on the right; the bakery section is at the entrance, with aroma attracting customers.
Prices are the most direct consumer experience: eggs 13.9 yuan for 30, potatoes 1.99 yuan per jin, mandarin oranges 4.9 yuan per jin... almost 30% cheaper than surrounding supermarkets.
Behind this pricing is Meituan's core logic: using value for money and instant fulfillment to reshape high-frequency household consumption scenarios.
Unlike JD, Meituan's supply chain is not heavy, but it has a denser "instant retail grid."
Happy Monkey forms strategic synergy with Meituan's Xiaoxiang Supermarket and Flash Purchase businesses. "Business Matters" observed that Meituan is "competing for community commerce through close-proximity store layouts and connecting near and far field resources." Happy Monkey stores are both in-store experience venues and service stations for instant delivery, forming a three-dimensional retail network of "large-store experience + small-store fulfillment."
At the exit of the Mentougou store, there is a Meituan promotion point, guiding consumers to recognize that "Happy Monkey is a Meituan brand," which is a key part of its ecosystem traffic diversion.
Some industry insiders comment that Happy Monkey is not a traditional supermarket but an offline traffic entry point. It uses the experience venue to earn repeat purchases and then uses instant retail to feed store traffic.
In a city like Beijing, known as a "convenience store desert," Happy Monkey fills the middle ground—cheaper than convenience stores, more streamlined than fresh produce supermarkets.
**Hard Discount Landscape Undecided**
The entire retail industry is experiencing a wave of "value for money" return. The hard discount model, by streamlining SKUs, direct sourcing from origins, and vigorously developing private labels, extremely compresses intermediate links and operating costs, achieving "quality at low prices," which exactly caters to this trend.
Mentougou is just a microcosm of discount competition. Nationwide, although the overall pattern of the discount track has not yet fully formed, there are several major forces.
First, besides Meituan's Happy Monkey and JD Discount Supermarket, there is Hema's Super He Suan (Hema NB was born in 2021, now named "Super He Suan"), whose reputation and influence cannot be ignored.
Its stores are mainly around 1,500 square meters, with SKUs controlled at 1,500-2,000, and fresh produce accounting for over 60%. As of 2025, it has over 350 stores, mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta region.
Its core strategy is the "three lows": low gross margin, low loss, low cost. Through de-branding and private labeling, Hema attempts to restore consumer trust in "value for money."
Second, the originator of the hard discount model, Germany's Aldi.
In China, it continues the "minimalist + private label" logic, with private labels accounting for 90% and fewer than 2,000 SKUs.
In 2025, its store count has exceeded 80, concentrated in Shanghai, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and other cities.
Aldi's advantage lies in standardization: unified displays, fixed processes, and centralized purchasing.
But its shortcomings are also obvious—cultural differences and local supply chain adaptation. At similar prices, its "experience" still feels somewhat cold.
Compared with these giants, the discount attempts of traditional Chinese retail enterprises have received less attention.
From a format perspective, unlike European "hard discount," China's discount stores are forming a unique ecosystem.
First, the Chinese market is more complex with large regional consumption differences, so "hard discount" in China is more like a "soft landing version": besides extreme efficiency, it must also balance experience and warmth.
Second, the entry of giants has made discount competition multi-dimensional. JD, Meituan, and Hema are platform players; Zhongbai, Wumart, Yonghui, etc., are traditional retail players; Aldi, Costco, Sam's Club, etc., are foreign standardized players.
This has evolved "discount" from a single price war to a comprehensive contest of supply chain, digitalization, and ecosystem synergy.
The logic of discount is small profits and quick turnover, but to achieve "quick turnover," extreme efficiency is required. Industry data shows that the average net profit margin of hard discount supermarkets in China is only 1.5%-5%.
Mistakes in any link—1% fresh produce loss, 2% labor increase, 3% rent rise—can wipe out profits.
It is foreseeable that in the near future, China's discount format will form a relatively stable pattern.
From another perspective, discount is not a downward price adjustment but a reconstruction of order, and a long-term race of operational capability and capital endurance.
As consumption enters a rational era, and as giants step out of screens and return to the streets, the meaning of retail is being rewritten—true retail is not just selling goods but building trust, and making people believe that "life can be cheaper and also better."


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## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 楚勿留香
- Published: 2025-11-18
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/community-discount-competition-intensifies-meituan-and-jd-com-clash-in-b-799579b5/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3MEjjEWAMLwIkSRtmJOQTg

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