The Zhitong Finance App learned that on the evening of February 29, Dingdong Grocery Shopping (DDL.US) released the fourth quarter results report of 2023. The report showed that its overall scale for the quarter was stable and maintained a continuous state of profit.

Specifically, Dingdong Grocery Shopping achieved revenue of 4.99 billion yuan for the quarter, GMV of 5.53 billion yuan, and a net profit margin of 0.3% under Non-Gaap standards. It is worth noting that up to this quarter, Dingdong Grocery Shopping had achieved profits under Non-Gaap standards for five consecutive quarters, and also achieved its first annual profit under Non-Gaap standards.

Financial reports also showed that Dingdong Grocery Shopping achieved a net operating cash inflow of 120 million yuan during the quarter. As of the end of Q4, the balance of cash and cash equivalents, short-term restricted funds and short-term investments was $5.31 billion. The company has sufficient financial reserves and is fully prepared for the next business development.

The past year has been a year of great changes in the consumer market environment for Dingdong Grocery Shopping and the racetrack where it is located. On the basis of steady development, it is also necessary to continuously optimize the operating capabilities and related core indicators of existing businesses, which is quite a challenge faced by many companies. Dingdong Grocery Shopping used actual performance over the past year to respond to market questions about its viability, and also proved the continued effectiveness of the “prioritize efficiency and balance scale” strategy.

In 2023, Dingdong Grocery Shopping achieved a GMV of 21.97 billion yuan. Although the scale declined from month to month, if part of the impact of the 2022 epidemic and the 2023 business area adjustment were removed, the performance of some core business data actually far exceeded expectations. The company's executives revealed at the performance conference that compared to 2021, the company's overall customer unit price increased by 23% to 72.1 yuan; the GMV scale in the East China market has also achieved a compound annual increase of 10%. Furthermore, even compared with 2022, which has a high base, GMV and order volume in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions achieved positive growth of more than 8% over the same period last year.

Dingdong Grocery Shopping performed well during the Spring Festival this past year. At the meeting, it was revealed that with consumer traffic reaching a new high during the Spring Festival this year, Dingdong Grocery Shopping still increased 6% year-on-year in the same store during the New Year's Eve to Lantern Festival, and the East China region increased 9% year-on-year. Also, on the day of the Lantern Festival on February 24, overall sales in a single day exceeded 100 million yuan, reaching the highest level in a single day after the pandemic. It can be said that the enhancement of Dingdong's ability to expand grocery shopping products and scenarios continues to be confirmed.

The data performance up to now is also the result of the “commodity power” strategy that Dingdong Grocery Shopping has been implementing since 2021.

According to its disclosure, in this quarter, the user penetration rate of Dingdong Grocery Shopping's own brand products reached 73.6%, further seizing users' mentality. The overall GMV penetration rate for the three categories of prepared food, pork, and soy products, which have great market prospects, also exceeded 50% throughout the year.

It can be seen from this that as it continues to focus on the domestic food sector and is deeply involved in product development, Dingdong Grocery Shopping has successfully developed a number of representative private brands and popular products on platforms, and also has a high level of user stickiness. Meanwhile, the supply chain capabilities accumulated during product development will also accelerate the product performance and user experience of its platform in the future, thus further increasing market competitiveness at a time when consumers are becoming more and more rational.

Next, Dingdong Grocery Shopping said it will make good use of the supply chain advantages accumulated in the early stages, focus on the theme of “eating,” continue to expand scenarios and external channels outside the table, as well as breaking product categories, find incremental growth, further improve the quantity and quality of its own developed products, and work around the goal of “becoming the first choice for fresh food and food shopping for Chinese families.”

While adhering to the original strategic approach, Dingdong Grocery Shopping has also been actively seeking changes in the operation process. According to information, for some time to come, Dingdong Grocery Shopping will continue to increase market penetration through refined operation and site optimization based on the existing coverage area, and at the same time accelerate the adjustment and improvement of the overall operating capacity of each region in response to the goal of “continuing to improve supply chain efficiency.”

“Instant retail will eventually return to the essence of commerce. It is necessary to provide consumers with more reliable service capabilities, more stable quality assurance and price competitiveness during the shopping process. We will continue to refine our basic skills, including commercial, service, operational, and organizational capabilities. We are better prepared for next spring.” Company executives once again emphasized at the performance meeting.