Food O2O in the field of fierce game, most companies gradually decline

"There is a ten-year long meal reservation website Rice Network so no, so, O2O fiery under another negative example was born." Different from the two days of media people only for the Rice Network report analysis, this article from the rice system, the Victoria City and Tintin three restaurants O2O company's decline to see three modes of failure: a long out of the call center, a mobile product washed out of the terminal printer, there is no core advantage of the mobile phone. These only stay in giving users the information level of the operation, because can not monitor the actual use of the effect, can not achieve O2O trading closed loop, the ability to control the data is naturally very weak. 】

To kill a world in the O2O is harder than the Israelites who led Egypt's slaves. The future is uncertain, after the pursuers. Moreover, most of the companies do not have the magical powers of the Red Sea in the west, but are gradually submerged in the constant struggle.

April 22, online rumors of a news, Rice Network (fantong.com) homepage has not opened, 400 phone calls are no longer connected. According to the people familiar with the Food Network Office site, the Rice network has long been deserted. Before long, once in the field of coupons O2O in the area of the Victoria City, Tintin concessions have failed or transformation.

In essence, the failure or transformation of these products has a common cause, genetic problems. The origins of these products are precisely the shackles of later development, and in the transition, it becomes the last straw to crush the camel. Of course, the Internet industry has always been known to be transient. Today's advantages and Pingzhang can become deadly shackles.

Rice Network: Call center out

Rice Network was established in 2003 in Beijing, with the way of the call center to provide users with ordering meals, coupons discount services. In terms of mode, the rice network with Ctrip similar to the call center plus the internet for catering businesses to provide services.

Soon after the establishment of the rice network through advertising, point of view of the model to achieve break-even. July 2008, the Rice network received 4 million U.S. dollars after the venture, the development of more rapid. 2009 Rice Network has more than 500,000 of the resources of merchants, cumulative orders more than 3.5 million, more than 10 million services.

Rice Network has rage, the formation of "North has rice network, the south has a meal order small secretary" pattern. Public comments CEO Zhang clearly remember, when the public comments just to do business in Beijing, a lot of people to open the public comments look at the introduction, comment on information, make a decision to which merchant to eat, and then immediately call the rice network telephone to make a reservation. The public comment has been depressed unceasingly.

"Rice network at first only a business model: Consumers through the network booking telephone reservations, when the member restaurant to pay discounts to consumers, rice network depends on membership or profit sharing." In the six-year period until 2009, it was a business model that could basically maintain break-even, including a public comment that was similar in pattern but focused on UGC customer reviews, and was so tepid. Rice network suffered the biggest hit was in 2010, when the rapid rise of group buying site, swept the first industry is catering, business focus is discount coupons, group buying website burning money to do the work of education catering companies, the rice network and the public comments have formed a threat. 】

2010 years later, the rice network with a deep merchant base is not in the mobile end of the layout, continue to eat the call center era of "capital." Until 2012, the rice network to launch a reservation, location to find the function of the app product, when Tintin preferential products users have exceeded 10 million people.

The rice net becomes also call center, defeat also call center. The initial use of the call center is because more close to the user's habits, and the failure of the call center because the way the call center can not form effective accumulation and precipitation of users. In other words, users want to eat the phone to book a hotel, if the rice network directly to the user to recommend the hotel, the user is certainly not acceptable.

In addition, call center on the user is not sticky, can call today to book, tomorrow can be directly on the phone to order. And the rice net can only look at the user to go again, unable to change. The same dilemma Ctrip also encountered, but because Ctrip in the tourism industry has many years of monopoly status, and its active layout in the late mobile Internet products. Even so, there are many new products that have been harvested to reap a lot of market share.

The dimension of the city: the channel's weight

2006 years or so, Shanghai subway station, mall and other crowded places set up a can print coupons of the terminal machine. Many young people need to spend 15 to 25 dollars to buy a small card, and then queue up on the terminal printer to print coupons to use. At the time, the print terminals on the ground floor of Zhongshan Park subway station were always overcrowded, while KFC coupons were the most popular.

In 2008, the city has 2 million members in Shanghai, and more than 1000 terminals print more than 20 million coupons a year. Business prices also rose to each small light box 4000 yuan. 2011, the income of the city nearly billion, a temporary scenery unlimited.

Along with the income soaring together, also has the channel expense of the city. According to people familiar with the situation, the maintenance of the city in 2011, the cost of laying terminal machinery for more than 30 million yuan, but also increased year by year.

At that time, mobile products have become a new trend. From the product gene point of view, since each cell phone can be used as a terminal to display the machine, why still need a device? Also, a mobile app can display tens of thousands of coupons, and a terminal machine can only display dozens of small windows.

After missing the mobile internet era, the city of Victoria 2013 with the click of a group of merchants to cooperate, but "holding group heating" still can not withstand the cold winter. Finally in March 2014, the city of Victoria to remove all the terminal printer. Although the city has a rumor that the company has not died, but the Victoria City's preferential terminal project itself has lost the possibility of development.

If the city can face their own "genetic" defects, to reform themselves, in time to move the end of the layout, perhaps chance. Of course, history is not. Moreover, the layout of the mobile end product is not a panacea.

Tintin discount: Small horse cart

PC era, Tintin network started in the map, in 2007 years or so, the use of Tintin map in Shanghai is a well-deserved boss, users will go to the Ding Ding map query bus lines, and send information to the phone to go out again.

Since then, Tintin network based on the map in the area of life services to expand, on the basis of the map to establish a variety of channels to collect advertising costs, and the merchant's poi fees.

Through the accumulation of information on life services, Tintin network was born to do a life service in the field of the idea of mobile products, the heat has been reduced, Tintin net set up a group buying project team soon dissolved, they found a larger category of goal point, coupons.

Purely conceptually, group buying itself is a preferential one. Coupons can include discounts, group buys, package combinations, vouchers, buy-and-send, etc.

Large category cut means more input, Tintin preferential access to tens of millions of U.S. dollars after the rapid opening in the country, in a short six months time accumulated more than 100,000 of the merchant. It can be said that in the field of mobile concessions, Tintin preferential layout is relatively early, and in two years accumulated tens of millions of users.

But Tintin, who made the map, did not have a core advantage in the mobile internet age. Before lbs is a fresh concept, but to the mobile Internet field, the map has become the basic configuration.

In addition, coupon category is a big concept, Tintin preferential products need to build a huge user base in order to realize the possibility of charging. Two years of big expansion, but the current situation of the foreseeable future, so that the board of directors and management can not reach a consensus of development, in the aftermath of the fierce conflict to adopt a national contraction strategy, the abolition of all except Shanghai Branch station, reserve headquarters for the next development.

Although Tintin network CEO Longjiang "to create a coupon listed company's Dream" again stranded, but with the rice net empty, the status of Staff debt collection, Tintin nets this "arm protect body" behavior at least for Tintin net left a comeback room.

PostScript：

Rice Network, the city of O2O, Tintin concessions from three dimensions into the first, one through the call center, one through the terminal printer, one through the phone end. But three products are only in the media mode, only to give users the information, but can not monitor the actual use of the effect.

Although not all industry O2O need closed loop, but in low consumption, high-frequency food industry, O2O closed loop is necessary. Although the late Ding ding discount through a hardware verification product to achieve a closed loop, and is expected to achieve through this terminal machine payment. But sorry ding ding discount did not go to the dream to realize the day.

Only realized the O2O closed-loop product, can realize the user data, the transaction data and so on precipitation, can realize the real payment according to the actual effect, from the media mode completely transformation into the trade pattern.

With the development of mobile payment, the realization of O2O transaction closed loop is no longer a difficult problem, then O2O data closed loop, even how to achieve a better line of linkage, there are many ways to go.

Recently, the same is the Life field O2O of the public comments in the accelerated development, has achieved O2O closed loop, and is committed to creating a platform + business complete product ecology. Rice Network and the public comment on the business is similar, in the rice network business plummeted until the collapse, the public comments on the network business is surprisingly good. There is news that the public comments in 2008 has completed two rounds of financing, and group purchase before, the rice network has not been a new financing, capital chain break or lead to the food system again without the direct cause of the land. The three once-brilliant restaurant O2O company, why fell to today's point, in the final analysis is also in this mobile internet era, the strain and operational capabilities have not been able to keep pace with the transition. 】