Just after the Golden Week holiday in China, big news exploded in the local life sector: Gaode Map’s newly launched “Street Scanning List” surpassed 400 million users within just 23 days of going live, directly expanding the functional boundary of a map app from a “navigation tool” to a “lifestyle decision-making portal.” On one side, Gaode enters the game aggressively with over 1 billion CNY (approx. 140 million USD) in subsidies. On the other side, Meituan-Dianping urgently relaunches its “Premium Takeout” as a defensive measure. Add in Douyin lurking hungrily in the corner, and this seemingly sudden “ranking war” is, in fact, an explosive convergence of contradictions in a trillion-yuan local services market. So, is the sudden rise of Gaode’s Street Scanning List a new hope to break the industry’s gridlock—or just another fleeting cash-burning carnival for traffic?
How Did Gaode Tear Open Meituan’s “Iron Throne”?
According to QuestMobile data, Gaode has 890 million monthly active users, and the Street Scanning List’s penetration rate is close to 50%, meaning that out of every two users opening Gaode, one has used it to find restaurants or plan a Citywalk route.
Gaode’s explosive short-term success lies in pinpointing the industry’s most painful “trust loophole.” In the past, when we used traditional ranking lists to pick a restaurant, we often fell into the trap of “the higher the score, the more likely to be a pitfall.” A restaurant rated 4.8 stars may have bought its way there with tactics like “free dessert for good reviews.” Reviews full of slang like “absolutely fire!” may show signs of AI generation. Some merchants even admit, “If you don’t spend tens of thousands of yuan on promotion, your store won’t even appear in searches.”
Gaode’s Street Scanning List takes a reverse approach—changing the evaluation standard from “subjective comments” to “voting with your feet.” Every time a user navigates to a store, searches and saves it, or becomes a repeat visitor, it’s factored into the scoring system. It also calibrates user input through Alipay Sesame Credit—reviews from high-credit users carry more weight, fundamentally filtering out fake reviews and score manipulation.
What’s even more critical is Gaode’s inherent “map DNA,” which is naturally compatible with local lifestyle scenarios. When planning a road trip, it automatically recommends “local favorite restaurants” along the way. Open the map at the entrance of a scenic spot and jump straight to “nearby good shops.” Even with just a half-day layover during a transfer, you can use the Street Scanning List to find authentic local snacks near the airport. This kind of seamless integration between “travel + consumption” is something Meituan and Douyin currently can’t match.
Is Meituan Panicking? The “Defense Paradox” Behind the Counterattack
Gaode’s fierce offensive struck directly at Meituan’s soft underbelly. As the long-standing “big brother” of local life services, Meituan-Dianping has long relied on its rankings to generate nearly one-third of its in-store revenue. Merchants wanting to be listed on the “Must Eat List” not only have to pay promotion fees but also cooperate with platform-led campaigns. Yet, with more and more fake reviews and manipulated rankings, user trust in Dianping has long eroded, spawning “folk wisdom” like “only trust restaurants rated between 3.8–4.2.”
Facing Gaode’s surprise attack, Meituan quickly played two cards: first, it relaunched the “Premium Takeout” program, attempting to safeguard its reputation with supply chain strengths; second, it launched a food-centric social platform “Yami,” featuring “no ads, only real recommendations,” inviting seasoned foodies to act as “recommendation officers.” Unfortunately, user scale remains under 1 million so far.
However, Meituan’s defense strategy can’t avoid a fundamental “competition paradox”: in order to defend its in-store business, it must allocate resources to resist Gaode, which in turn dilutes focus and investment in its instant retail and takeout businesses. When platform revenue relies heavily on merchant promotion fees, “absolute authenticity” is hard to sustain. Merchants comment: “On Dianping, we need to promote monthly to get visibility. On Gaode, entry is free and we can still make it to the list. Though order volume may be lower than Meituan’s, profits are actually higher.” This mindset of “whichever side has lower cost wins” may become a key variable in the future battle.
Alibaba’s “Obsession with Local Life”
From acquiring Koubei.com in 2004, to fully buying Ele.me in 2018, and merging Ele.me’s in-store business into Gaode in 2023—Alibaba has been wrestling in this space for nearly 20 years, yet never managed to shake Meituan’s dominance. This time, by betting on Gaode, it’s clear Alibaba has learned from past mistakes. It didn’t forcibly tie in Ele.me or Taobao Flash Sale, but allowed Gaode to “go solo,” first establishing strong user awareness around the idea of “authentic rankings.” After all, compared to “ordering takeout from a map,” users are far more open to “finding reliable restaurants on a map.”
But challenges remain. First is how to sustain its promise of “never commercializing.” Gaode currently charges no merchant listing fees and takes no ads, but the operating cost for 400 million users and the 1 billion CNY (approx. 140 million USD) in subsidies can’t rely on Alibaba’s deep pockets forever. Second is data blind spots: the ranking depends on navigation data, but many local regulars or neighborhood diners don’t need navigation—so these “hidden gems” are easily overlooked. Finally, there’s the issue of synergy within the Alibaba ecosystem. At present, the Street Scanning List hasn’t been integrated with Alipay or Ele.me. After finding a restaurant on Gaode, users still need to jump to other apps to place an order, which is not seamless. If in the future they can build a closed loop of “see list – navigate – pay – redeem,” Gaode’s competitiveness could rise to another level.
The “Three Kingdoms” of Local Life
Today, the local life arena is no longer just a “two-player duel.” Gaode has opened a wedge with “authentic behavioral data,” Meituan defends its position with “supply chain + quality control,” and Douyin steadily eats away at younger demographics with its short video content ecosystem. All three have their strengths—but also face the same problem: how to rebuild trust between users and merchants.
What consumers want has never been “a perfect 4.8 rating,” but rather “a reliable choice without traps.” What merchants need isn’t “short-term traffic bought with burning cash,” but “a fair chance to be seen through quality alone.” From this perspective, the success of Gaode’s Street Scanning List is essentially a victory of “sincerity” over “tactics.” But this war has only just begun.
As Meituan starts purging fake reviews, as Douyin experiments with “real in-store data” to create its own rankings—how long can Gaode maintain its “first-mover advantage”? When subsidies run dry and commercial pressures mount, can the Street Scanning List still uphold its ideal of “never commercializing”?
The trillion-yuan local life market has never lacked traffic or capital—what it lacks is genuine sincerity that creates real value for users and merchants. Whoever can hold onto that will be the one who laughs last.
[Disclaimer]: The above content reflects analysis of publicly available information, expert insights, and BCC research. It does not constitute investment advice. BCC is not responsible for any losses resulting from reliance on the views expressed herein. Investors should exercise caution.