In this era where everything can be delivered to your home, takeout is no longer just about delivering meals. Whether it’s flowers, daily necessities, or other urgently needed items, you only need one order to get them all. As consumer demand increases, new business formats represented by just-in-time logistics have also emerged and achieved rapid growth.
Errand service, as a new non-standard service form derived from just-in-time logistics, is also very popular. Recently, the errand running market has welcomed another major player. It is reported that AutoNavi has recently launched an express delivery service called "AutoNavi Instant Delivery". Currently, this service is only available in Beijing, Wuhan and Hangzhou. So, with the entry of Amap, what changes will happen to the already unstable errand running market?
Testing the errand market
It is understood that the service entrance of "Amap Instant Delivery" is located in the personal center of the Amap Map App. Users can choose the "Help me deliver" or "Help me pick up" service on the delivery and pickup page. In fact, the errand running industry has been popular for a long time, and many well-known players have emerged in the industry and have a certain degree of influence. Why did Amap choose to enter the industry at this time?
First, consumers' demand for errand services continues to grow, and AutoNavi's entry into the errand market can better meet consumer needs. After years of habit cultivation, consumers have become more and more accustomed to using errand services to solve problems such as picking up and delivering items in the same city, purchasing on behalf of the same city, and helping with errands. According to iiMedia Consulting survey data, 81.9% of consumers are familiar with errand services; 33.7% of consumers often use errand services and plan to continue to use them. It can be seen that consumers have a high degree of acceptance of errand running services, and AutoNavi’s online errand running business can also meet the diverse errand running needs of users, thereby increasing user stickiness.
Secondly, the scale of the errand running market continues to increase, and AutoNavi's development of errand running business will help find new growth. Nowadays, looking for new growth has become a common choice for all Internet platforms. As a newly emerging service model in recent years, errand service has gradually become favored by consumers, and its usage rate continues to increase. As consumer demand rises, the market size of the errand running industry continues to expand. According to iResearch's "2023 China Errand Running Economy Market Insight Report", the order scale of the instant delivery service industry will reach 95.78 billion in 2026. Faced with the growing demand and expanding market size of the errand running industry, AutoNavi's entry into this field is also expected to find new growth points.
Thirdly, Amap’s online errand business can further expand its service scope and enhance its competitiveness. When talking about Amap, the first two keywords that come to most users' minds are map and navigation. But in fact, the Amap Map App now has more than just map navigation.
In March this year, Ele.me's in-store business (formerly "Word of Mouth") officially merged with Amap. In the future, all local life-to-store businesses under Alibaba will be integrated into the entrance of Amap. In August this year, AutoNavi announced that it had reached cooperation with more than 4,000 Apple authorized dealers across the country and launched a "buy on the go, pick up on the go" service. It can be said that the functions of Amap have been greatly enriched. The launch of AutoNavi's errand running business is also a further supplement to its local life service business, which can further expand its service scope and help acquire more new users.
Own secrets
Today's errand running market can be said to be full of giants. Players from all walks of life have their own trump cards, and their strength cannot be underestimated. From the perspective of time alone, it can be said that Gaode entered the game too late, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a latecomer. However, having said that, as a latecomer, Gaode also has its own unique competitiveness.
First, Amap has its own traffic pool, which can help the development of the errand business. Unlike other platforms that are built from scratch, Amap, as one of the well-known map software, has a considerable user base. According to Quest mobile report data, Amap’s average MAU from April to June 2023 was 770 million, ranking first in map navigation, second only to WeChat, Taobao, and Alipay. It can be seen from the data that Amap can be said to have its own traffic pool, and these users are also expected to be converted into errand business users to boost the development of its errand business.
Second, Ele.me’s Hummingbird Errands can help AutoNavi provide delivery services for its errands business, ensuring its ability to fulfill contracts. It is understood that AutoNavi’s instant delivery service adopts an aggregation model, that is, it does not provide transportation capacity itself, but matches user needs with third-party transportation capacity. At present, Amap's instant delivery is provided by Hummingnia Errand, a subsidiary of Ele.me. The importance of transportation capacity to the errand service business is self-evident, and Hummingbird Errands has been deeply involved in the industry for many years and has a large number of riders. Relying on this, AutoNavi saves the time of establishing a transportation capacity pool, and the development of its errand running business is also It will be relatively easy.
Third, AutoNavi’s continued penetration in the local life field has laid the foundation for the development of its errand business. Local life services have become a key area of development for major manufacturers. After years of development, AutoNavi has evolved from an early map navigation software to the current integrated travel, food group buying, wine and travel, leisure entertainment, and automobile software. It is a platform that integrates services, peripheral tours and many other contents, which can meet the many needs of users.
In addition, consumers are becoming more and more accepting of errand services, and the frequency of use is also increasing. The launch of AutoNavi's errand service will undoubtedly meet consumer needs in a deeper level and is expected to continue to enhance user stickiness. sex. Precisely because of AutoNavi's frequent efforts in the field of local life services, consumers are gradually developing the habit of going to the AutoNavi App to complete their local life service needs. Based on this, users will accept AutoNavi's new errand running business relatively quickly. Some, which will also facilitate the development of their errand business.
Running errands is a tough nut to crack
Judging from the current situation, although AutoNavi entered the market late, its various advantages will also become the greatest confidence for it to enter the field of errands and provide assistance to the development of its errand business. However, opportunities often come with challenges. Although the errand running market is attractive, it is also not easy to make achievements in this field.
On the one hand, there are many participants in the errand running industry, and entering the errand running market will inevitably face considerable competitive pressure. As a rare incremental market, there are also a large number of players entering the errand market. In addition to the well-known Meituan errands, flash delivery, UU errands, and SF Express, there are also many new players entering the game.
For example, in March this year, Lalamove announced that it would launch errand services in Shenzhen and Shanghai first and open to accepting orders; in June this year, the Didi Chuxing platform added the Didi Express delivery service and is currently connected to Dada Express Three companies, Flash Delivery and UU Errands, provide instant delivery services for small-sized items such as "economic delivery" and "direct delivery". Regardless of whether they are established players or new players in the errand market, almost all of them have good strength, brand mentality, sufficient logistics experience, or huge transportation capacity. Amap entering the errand field will inevitably have to compete with other players. When players compete, the pressure is naturally high.
On the other hand, users’ preferences and habits have been formed, and it is not easy for AutoNavi to attract them to new platforms. While consumer demand for errand services continues to grow, users' preference for errand brands has gradually emerged. According to iiMedia Consulting survey data, Meituan Errands (60.1%) is the most commonly used errand running brand by consumers, followed by Ele.me Errands (29.8%) and Flash Delivery (27.8%); in addition, 46.8% Consumers will identify one or two brands, and 41.3% of consumers prefer to use several brands. It can be seen from the data that consumers are not only accustomed to the errand running platform, but also have relatively high loyalty to the errand running brand. For AutoNavi, attracting users to its own platform is not an easy task.
In addition, the errand business pays special attention to the ability to fulfill contracts. Currently, AutoNavi only has access to one errand provider, Hummingbird Pagoda, and there is still a certain gap between it and other players in the industry. Since Amap adopts an aggregation model and has not established its own delivery team, currently there is only one third-party errand running platform chosen by Amap. At the same time, other players in the industry have been continuously improving their real-time delivery ecosystem to enhance their ability to guarantee fulfillment. For example, on August 28, Meituan announced that it would continue to strengthen the cooperative ecological construction of instant delivery and reach cooperation with SF Express, Flash Delivery, and UU Errand.
All in all, the errand running market is a field full of opportunities. Whether it is the ever-expanding market size or the continuous improvement of user recognition, it has confirmed the endless potential of the errand running industry. But for AutoNavi, there are many players in the errand running market, and it is inevitable to encounter various challenges when entering the errand running market. After AutoNavi joins the errand market, I believe time will tell what changes it will bring to the industry.