Alibaba unveils appetizing app for meals

E-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd launched mobile meal-order app Tao Diandian on Friday.

The newly-formed lifestyle services platform will allow users to pre-order restaurant dishes before heading out to eat, said Wang Yulei, general-manager of Tao Diandian business unit.

Customers can search for restaurants based on proximity, download vendor coupons, and make prior orders. They can swipe the QR code upon arrival at the restaurants, and can pay via credit card or the Alipay Wallet, the mobile payment app of Alibaba.

Tao Diandian can save customers time and increase customer flow significantly, said Su Yuan, assistant director of the online business unit at restaurant chain South Beauty.

Liu Guoming, head of Hangzhou Catering Services Holdings Ltd, said net profits for restaurants have fallen on average around 8 percent, due to rising costs and fierce competition.

Tao Diandian differs from China's catering online ratings and group-buying sites in the sense that it enables participating merchants to track user preference and precisely target consumers with tailored-made discounts, rather than at the expense of vendors' profits, said Wang.

Alibaba will look to Chinese digital map provider AutoNavi, in which it has invested $294 million, to boost its O2O services on Tao Diandian.

Chinese consumers are looking for more O2O integration so they can quickly convert their stored e-cash into tangible goods and services.

Alibaba's latest offline pushes include payment for taxi rides using the Alipay Wallet app, as well as retrieving movie tickets at Wanda and Jinyi cinemas using sound-wave technology.