Beijing Wants You to Boost Your Waimai Spending: How to Claim Your Share

Feeling deja vu? This isn't the first time that the Beijing government has offered up huge savings to consumers, but this time, the focus is on something you are definitely spending on: waimai delivery. The city has teamed up with Meituan and Eleme, two major food delivery service platforms, to feed the starving (or just lazy) people who have spent all their lunch budget on 11.11

Offline, major shopping malls and food courts will welcome customers with various street fairs featuring different themes such as fitness, books, artifacts, the vague yet intriguing journeying to the countryside, and late-night eatery events. You can find the event list and participating vendors by searching WeChat mini-programs for “夜行地图” (Night Map) and “夜京城消费指南” (Beijing Nighttime Shopping Guide) to acquire your share of the vouchers.

Keep reading to find out more about the JD and waimai coupons, which will be released at 10am on every Saturday.

What are these vouchers?

The JD vouchers issued by the Beijing government and Jingdong e-commerce platform are valued at more than RMB 10 billion and can be used for two distinct industries: dining and smart devices, according to Chinese lifestyle magazine, Vista. The dining vouchers come as a three-voucher package, each of which requires that the bill exceeds a certain amount to be eligible. This time, the government shoulders more expenses to reduce the pressure from the vendors and lowered the thresholds for customers who don't intend to have a feast every time. Right now, a bill of RMB 40 will get an RMB 15 discount, a tab of RMB 80 will grant an RMB 30 discount, and RMB 160 begets RMB 60 off. 

The other coupons will be applicable to smartphones and electronic device sales. This deal offers 10 percent off any purchase that's RMB 2,000 or higher, with a cap at RMB 400. It's worth noting that the coupons for electronics fall into two purchase categories – online and offline – and you can only apply for one at a time. So it's definitely worth thinking through your big-ticket items beforehand.

The waimai coupons work pretty much the same way as the JD ones, but you will only get one RMB 15 out of RMB 40 coupon each week. However, since Meituan and Eleme are two separate platforms, you will be able to enjoy two meals with discounts every week.

How do I get them?

All coupons will be up for grabs starting at 10am on every Saturday, currently, no specific end date of this event has been announced but according to the customer service of Eleme the event may end with this calendar year. To win one of these coveted coupons, you need to download corresponding apps, the Jingdong shopping app for JD vouchers, and Meituan or Eleme app for waimai coupons. Both coupons need you to verify your identity as a Beijing resident. For JD coupons, you need to grant it geotagging permission, so they can verify that you're in Beijing. Then, simply pass the identity verification by providing your nationality, ID, and name. Fortunately, passports are valid for this verification process meaning expats should be able to take full advantage of the savings as well. To apply for the vouchers, click on the event logo in the app or scan the posters displayed in participating storefronts. And for the fun part, scan the QR code on your bill when you make your payment to automatically trigger the deal when you are ready to pay. For waimai coupons, you need to verify your identity via Alipay or bank card that issued within Beijing, and make sure you use your Beijing phone number to complete the verification. The acquired vouchers can be used when you order your waimai on the platform.

The fine print

JD vouchers are valid for 14 days after you acquire them, while the waimai ones will expire on the following Saturday. Given that you can only get your hands on one electronic purchase voucher at a time, it logically follows that you would only be able to use one voucher per visit or order. Given that the JD dining voucher comes in sets of three, though, you can only use one voucher at a time, and the one with the highest value (remember, they're worth RMB 15, 30, and 60 depending on how much you spend) and closest expiration date will be automatically chosen when you make the payment.

Good luck! And may the hongbao gods be kind to you.

READ: Beijing Makes Moves to Reinvigorate Its Roadside Vendors

Images: Unsplash, Beijing Youth, Meituan, Eleme, Zeus Zou