Quick commerce in China 2025

Over the past 10 months, China’s “quick commerce” - once a niche delivery segment - has exploded into everyday infrastructure, serving hundreds of millions of consumers.

Platforms like Meituan, Alibaba, and JD are locked in an intense subsidy war, but beneath the competition lies something much deeper - a decade-long transformation in logistics, consumer behaviour, and retail operations that has turned instant delivery into a core part of China’s urban economy.

Quick Commerce in China 2025 is a strategic intelligence report designed to help leaders understand how instant retail scaled at unprecedented speed in China, what systems enabled it, and what lessons global operators can draw as similar models begin to emerge across Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.

Built on Momentum Works’ on-the-ground research, ecosystem analysis, and learnings through more than 13 immersions to China in 2025 alone, the report examines platform competition, subsidy mechanics, logistics infrastructure, operating models, and the next phase of automation and AI-driven retail.

What’s in the 2025 edition:

• A deep dive into China’s 2025 quick commerce subsidy war — the largest and most costly to date
• Clear breakdown of the strategic roles played by Meituan, Alibaba, and JD
• New analysis showing why this is fundamentally a systems war, not a pricing war
• Detailed case studies across 3P and 1P models, including Instashopping, dark stores, and store-warehouse hybrids
• First-hand observations from Momentum Works’ China Immersions, including visits to multiple dark store formats, driver operations, and in-depth discussions with key operators
• Forward-looking insights on the next phase: drones, autonomous supply chains, and AI-driven speed

This report is designed for decision-makers including:

• Executives and leadership teams in retail, ecommerce, and consumer platforms
• Strategy, operations, and logistics leaders evaluating on-demand retail models
• Investors and funds tracking quick commerce, logistics, and platform competition
• Founders and operators preparing for instant delivery expectations in their markets

How leaders use this report:

• To understand how quick commerce scales sustainably beyond subsidies
• To assess which operating models are viable in different market conditions
• To pressure-test instant retail strategies against China’s real-world outcomes
• To anticipate how automation, AI, and infrastructure will redefine “speed” in retail

Quick Commerce in China 2025: How instant retail became everyday infrastructure provides a rare inside look at how China built the world’s most sophisticated on-demand retail ecosystem - and what it signals for the future of commerce globally.