Key Takeaways
- By 2025, China’s internet giants pivot toward consolidated super apps amid dwindling mobile traffic.
- JD.com and Alibaba integrate food delivery into their main apps, mirroring Meituan’s "Food+Platform" strategy.
- Super apps like WeChat, Douyin, and Meituan dominate 75% of user screen time, leaving niche apps struggling.
- Unbounded expansion becomes the norm—retail, travel, entertainment, and AI services merge into single interfaces.
1. The Drying Riverbed: Mobile Traffic’s New Reality
Shrinking Opportunities for Standalone Apps
- User growth plateaus: China’s mobile internet active users hit 12.57B in 2024 (QuestMobile), nearing saturation.
Time spent shifts:
- Short videos (62.9 hrs/month)
- Social media (40.2 hrs)
- News (24.4 hrs)
- Retail apps decline: Downloads and usage time drop for 3 consecutive years (Sensor Tower).
The Super App Advantage
- Traffic consolidation: 80% of flows to WeChat, Douyin, and Meituan—forcing rivals to integrate or perish.
- Case Study: JD.com embeds food delivery in its main app despite UX friction, prioritizing traffic retention over standalone convenience.
👉 Why super apps dominate 2025’s digital landscape
2. Meituan’s Blueprint: The Third Super App
Why Meituan Succeeded Where Others Failed
- High-frequency demand: Food delivery’s daily usage counters retail’s sporadic engagement.
- Lower traffic costs: CPM for meals is 40% cheaper than e-commerce (Sensor Tower).
- Defying Douyin: While Alibaba/JD lost ground to Douyin’s e-commerce push, Meituan’s logistics moat held firm.
The "Food+" Expansion Model
- From meals to "everything": Books, short videos, cloud gaming, and travel now live inside Meituan’s app.
- Wang Xing’s vision: "No business boundaries—only core user needs matter."
3. The Borderless War: Super Apps or Bust
Strategic Shifts Across Giants
| Company | Super App Strategy | Key Moves |
|-------------|------------------------|---------------|
| Meituan | Aggressive integration | Added 15+ services (e.g., gaming, recycling) |
| JD.com | Late but all-in | Folded logistics, second-hand trade into main app |
| Alibaba | Gradual consolidation | Merged Ele.me, Fliggy; kept some units independent |
FAQs
Q: Can niche apps survive the super app era?
A: Unlikely. With 1% annual download declines, vertical apps lack traffic to compete.
Q: What’s the biggest risk for super apps?
A: Overextension. Meituan paused grocery delivery to focus on high-margin instant retail.
Q: Will Douyin or WeChat dominate?
A: Douyin leads entertainment, but Meituan’s local services lock in daily utility.
4. The Endgame: Why Super Apps Are Inevitable
The Consolidation Imperative
- Survival > Independence: Alibaba’s reversal of its "1+6+N"拆分 strategy proves centralization wins.
- Investor takeaway: "Bet on ecosystems, not single-service apps."
👉 How to leverage super apps for business growth
Final Verdict
China’s internet endgame is clear: 3-4 super apps will control 90% of digital activity by 2026. For JD, Alibaba, and Meituan, the choice is simple—integrate or be sidelined.