New challenges for US group three or four market

Absrtact: As a survivor of the Battle of the Thousand regiments, the group began to develop by cautious and prudent in the 2011 group buying market. Three years in the past, when the United States Tuanzuo steady the first spot, the company is more positive, because in the broader city

As a survivor of the Battle of the Thousand, the group began with a surge in the 2011 group buying market, with cautious and steady wins. Three years in the past, when the United States Tuanzuo steady the first spot, the company is more positive, because in the broader market, the United States will need to face a bigger and more fierce opponents.

According to the Regiment 800 data, the first half of 2014, the United States Regiment turnover of nearly 15 billion yuan, occupy the market share of more than half. And once thousand Regiment war old opponents, handle, litters, full, and so on, only a single digit share, has long been squeezed out of the first Echelon group.

But today's American regiment is not no opponent, but the opponents are no longer those who have been collectively crazy Group purchase site, in a stronger historical accumulation of the public comments and more money to support the glutinous rice, the United States Regiment in the three or four line of the city's share is being met with a strong challenge.

At the same time, CEO Wang to the United States Regiment "eat and Drink big platform" new positioning also implies the United States Regiment in the Life service O2O market share the ambition, but the lack of mobile Internet traffic access to the United States and the 58, the market and Baidu, the public comments and other rivals to compete for markets, will be a huge challenge.

Hold the line three or four.

Today's group buying territory, followed by the United States and the next competitor, is the public comments and standing behind the Baidu glutinous rice. Comments on the first half of the purchase turnover of 6.8 billion yuan, eating about 20% of the market share. Glutinous rice turnover in the first half 3 billion yuan, accounting for 10% of the share.

The United States, comments, glutinous rice, the first three of the sphere of influence are different, the main advantages of the public comments are mainly concentrated in the one or two-line city, especially in Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing and other cities occupy a dominant position. The share of glutinous rice is mainly from the two or three-line city. And the United States, the most open station cities, the current advantages of several in the 234-line cities, of which three or four-line cities accounted for nearly 70% of the United States share.

The group's income composition also represents some changes in the Chinese group buying market.

Three years ago, the battleground of group buying was mainly in one or two-line cities. Even in 2011, the United States Group has voluntarily closed some of the four-line city substation. At that time, the consideration is that the four-line urban payment habits have not been developed, and the number of businesses is relatively small, online advertising model is difficult to accept.

But three years later, the situation has turned upside down. According to the Regiment 800 this July data, the three or four-line city's purchase turnover has accounted for 59% of the market share. This means that the three or four-line city is a battleground for group buying.

The American Regiment is the absolute leader of the three or four-line city. But with the maturity of the three or four-line city market, the public comments, glutinous rice have accelerated the speed of expansion in three or four cities.

This year's plan is to increase the number of urban stations from 180 to 300 in a year. Public comments also clearly illuminated the "go to the three or four line" plan, the current number of urban substation has been expanded from the beginning of the forty or fifty to 140. After all the rice was received by Baidu, the expansion plan is even more alarming, the number of urban stations is expected to increase to 400 in the year.

Glutinous rice in the "upgrade" to become the Baidu Glutinous rice, the team also ushered in a big upgrade. With Baidu search to push the team to inject, glutinous rice currently the overall number of people has reached 6000. At the same time this year, glutinous rice in a series of low-cost promotional activities to seize the market share of rivals.

Baidu CEO Robin Li in the first quarter after the release of the public said, "Baidu's lbs platform business growth is very rapid, quarterly growth reached around 80%." Although the share is still in the third place in the market, but Li has shown confidence, because "we are catching up very fast."

Public comment CEO Zhang also said this year, "expansion will be more radical", he explained the logic behind the "three or four-line strategy", in the relatively low level of development of the city, consumers are still the main demand is preferential, so in the three or four-line cities need to vigorously promote group buying business.

From the first half of the growth rate, the opponent's entry has not yet brought too lethal impact on the United States Regiment. The first half of the U.S. group turnover year-on-year increase of 183.1%, higher than the public comment Group of 147.9%. Glutinous rice market share than six months ago also did not significantly improve.

But in the face of the three or four line that had to be kept, the American regiment also had to tense up. An interesting detail is that once determined not to promote the holding of cash flow of the U.S. regiment, also began to put heavily advertising. Since May, the United States group's large-scale brand promotion activities in Hunan TV, Jiangsu TV's hit show, the main city of the building media, public transit subway can also see the United States Regiment figure.

In addition, some teams are facing some new changes. The first is the increase in manpower, and then with the increase in competitors, in order to stabilize the cooperation business, the United States Group of Trade Points have been significantly reduced, some of the city's points even from the original 10% to 3%.

Not just group buying

Group buying is a sharp blade to seize the market, but it does not represent the whole of the future.

Now the U.S. group, on the one hand in the group buying business to cut into more market segments, including film tickets and hotel business. On the other hand, also began to kill the league outside the purchase of services. For example, at the end of last year, the vice President Wang Huiwen led the takeout business.

Wang Huiwen will be the overall layout of the United States as a "T-shaped strategy", horizontal for group buying, vertical vertical is the category, the United States and the group of Takeout is one of the "vertical."

The United States group in the film tickets and hotel group purchase business has been quite large-scale. According to the U.S. mission released data, as of August 2014, the United States film sales occupy the national film total box-office nearly 20%. Hotel Group is another piece of the United States Group has taken the lead in the market segment. According to the Analysys think-tank, the first half of this year, the group purchase Market hotel room turnover of 3 billion, the United States group accounted for 75% of the share.

As the CEO of Wang will be the United States Regiment summed up as "a big platform for beer and skittles," the fact that the Wang before, "The narrow sense of the whole market share of the industry is only 30 billion or 40 billion, while the entire life service industry has a good trillions of, group buying industry in this market is only a very small part

But aiming at "eat and drink big platform", not only the United States Regiment.

Since the beginning of the year, in addition to the field of group buying more intense competition, the competitions are more reflected in the O2O comprehensive strength, which also no lack of giants figure. Tencent Strategic stake in the public comments, Baidu's integration of glutinous rice, as well as the introduction of the "direct number", are showing its ambitions for the life service market.

The public reviews the first to comment on, the promotion of the model into the market of beer and skittles. Before and after 2014, through the strategic adjustment and the reform of the Department, the O2O thought of the public comment gradually clear up. On the one hand, is to continue in the field of food depth expansion, that is, to buy, book, takeaway, member management and other services in-depth. On the other hand is the horizontal expansion in the industry, to marriage, tourism and other new areas of the march.

And Baidu over the past few years, with the help of the map of lbs attribute, also never give up on life services related products exploration. And in the past Baidu World Congress, Baidu launched a link between merchants and users of the new platform: direct number. The launch of the direct number also means that Baidu's O2O strategy has a clearer play.

Baidu Vice President Liu that the future will be the traditional enterprise integration O2O online resources of the magic weapon, behind the logic is actually through Baidu Mobile end of the drainage, and finally realize including group buying, booking, ordering and other business services to the one-stop.

And in the outside world, Baidu sits on the massive flow, as well as the user's strong demand for active search, through the "direct number" to the user and merchants to achieve demand matching, Baidu O2O brought more imagination space.

Whatever the incision is, it is clear that each participant sees a huge O2O business opportunity hidden by the traditional real economy.

Conclusion：

The theme of the 2014 Annual meeting of the United States is "crisis" and "growth". In the O2O field of competition, the U.S. team needs to challenge is more volume of competitors, single group buying has been difficult to win, whether again in the melee survival is the biggest challenge to the United States.