Market power of digital online food delivery platforms: Chinese cases in the context of the development of Russia’s northern regions

The article examines the market power of digital online food delivery platforms in China and Russia as delivery and e-commerce become part of consumption infrastructure. The research problem is that traditional indicators of market share, price and commission do not sufficiently reflect the influence of platforms that control data, algorithms, access rules, ratings and couriers’ work practices. The purpose of the study was to identify common and specific mechanisms through which food delivery platforms form market power in the Russian-Chinese context and to justify regulatory directions with regard to competition, algorithmic transparency and the protection of platform workers. The materials and methods include a comparative case analysis of Meituan, Ele.me/Taobao Instant Commerce and JD Waimai, analysis of statistical data from Russia and China, academic literature and regulatory legal acts governing online trade, competition, algorithms and platform employment. The Russian material is considered as an applied block that makes it possible to assess the relevance of Chinese experience for eGrocery, O2O services, ecosystem delivery, northern regions of Russia and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), where remoteness, low population density, climate risks, shortages of workers and high logistics costs increase the dependence of consumers, restaurants and small businesses on intermediaries. The regional empirical part is developed using the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) as an example: the analysis takes into account territorial scale, population density, the concentration of demand in Yakutsk, seasonal navigation and northern supply as factors shaping last-mile costs and platform dependence. The study finds that common mechanisms of market power include network effects, economies of scale and scope, data control, algorithmic management and ecosystem lock-in. China is characterized by a larger user base, high density of instant retail, developed antitrust and algorithmic regulation, and the consolidation of social guarantees for workers in new forms of employment. Russia is characterized by rapid growth of eGrocery and O2O services, the ecosystem role of major digital players and the formation of a legal framework for the platform economy. The practical significance of the study lies in substantiating comprehensive regulation that combines competition, access, algorithmic explainability, social protection of couriers and the prevention of platform dependence in remote markets and northern cities of Russia. 

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