Food delivered to the doorstep is not so cheap in China anymore

The customer can then see when their meal will arrive through a live map tracking the driver’s movement.This new habit of ordering food via a marketplace app rather than calling a restaurant caught on rapidly in China, in part thanks to vast sums of subsidies from companies like Ele.me and Meituan to bring costs down for restaurants and users. Last year saw more shakeup as Alibaba took over Ele.me, which subsequently merged with the parent’s local services unit Koubei, while Meituan went public with Tencent being a major shareholder.Meituan led the game in 2018 with a 61.3 percent market share according to research firm TrustData, giving it a meaningful edge over Ele.me, which alongside its newly acquired Baidu Waimai commanded a total of 36.5 percent share.Baidu sells food delivery business to its rival Ele.meSubsidies were helpful in enlisting restaurants and consumers early on, but as the market consolidates, investors will likely become more attuned to monetization. As subsidies shrink, those reliant on delivery as a lifeline are left with three options: close down, absorb the new costs to keep customers happy, or in some cases where the kitchen is well-functioning, shift the costs to customers.TechCrunch spoke to more than a dozen restaurants and take-out kitchens in China’s major cities and found most are paying at least 20 percent of each order — a considerable bite to the low-margin business — to Meituan and slightly less to Ele.me.