Could Chinese shopping platform Meituan acquire grocery technology firm Instacart to enter the US retail market?

It’s only a matter of time before one of China's leading technology platform companies enters the US market to operate as a retailer.

JD.Com and Alibaba have partnerships with several retailers Stateside to provide assistance with logistics in China and the US. Analysts expect JD.Com or Alibaba to make the move. But Meituan is best placed to do so, based on its model and capabilities, according to Brittain Ladd, a supply chain consultant and former Amazon executive.

Meituan is a shopping platform for locally found consumer products and retail services including food delivery, movie ticketing, hotel and travel booking. The company is headquartered in Beijing and was founded in 2010 by Wang Xing.

In a LinkedIn post, Ladd notes that it has recently been expanding its global footprint. It launched its delivery app, Keeta, in Hong Kong in May 2023, quickly becoming a leading player in the city's food delivery market. In September 2024, Meituan officially entered Saudi Arabia with KeeTa, expanding to Riyadh and other major cities with plans to cover 80% of the country by the end of 2025.

It is aggressively expanding its offerings for groceries. The company is investing heavily in its quick commerce and instant retail segments, aiming to lead in a sector expected to exceed RMB 2 trillion ($278.9 billion) by 2030 in China.

Meituan plans to expand its front warehouse retail brand, Xiaoxiang Supermarket, to all tier-one and tier-two cities, and is even testing an overseas version, KeeMart, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “This expansion indicates a strong push into the grocery delivery market, building on its existing logistics and delivery infrastructure to capture a larger share of the fast growing quick commerce sector,” Ladd observes.

JD.com recently acquired the German electronics retailer CECONOMY, which includes the retail brands MediaMarkt and Saturn. Alibaba Group, including Alibaba.com, operates in 200 countries.

“Chinese logistics and retail companies are aggressively expanding into South America, the Middle East, and Europe. The big prize is the USA, which has the world's largest retail market at $7.5 trillion, and the largest grocery market at $883 billion,” Ladd says.

“Shein, Temu and TikTok understand this. It’s only a matter of time before one of China's leading platform companies enters the US market to operate as a retailer. The question is how? In my opinion, the best option for Meituan to pursue is acquiring Instacart. An acquisition gives it immediate access to the US grocery market, and provides Meituan with an opportunity to introduce more services and technology, and possibly make additional acquisitions. If it enters the US, it will be exciting to watch what it does.”

Ladd concludes: “The brutal truth is that Chinese retailers and logistics companies have invested heavily in building AI driven technology and logistics infrastructure to supercharge their ability to operate more efficiently than other companies.”

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AI will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now open for entries, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.

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He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

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