Logo of Taobao Shangou File photo VCG

Some Chinese consumers on Friday had hard time finding the popular food delivery app Ele.me on their smartphones. The platform has been renamed Taobao Shangou starting from Friday after app update, with other scenarios using the brand Ele.me will be rebranded as well, according to a statement on the official WeChat account of Taobao Shangou on Friday.

Founded in 2009, Ele.me has grown into a top player in China's food delivery market. And it was acquired in 2018 by Alibaba and its fintech affiliate Ant Group for $9.5 billion, according to the South China Morning Post.

The rename on Friday comes as Alibaba steps up investment in the instant retail sector. According to Alibaba's latest earnings call, the third quarter marked a peak in investment for Taobao Shangou, and along with significant improvements in overall efficiency and stabilized scale, the company's overall investment in the sector is expected to be reduced next quarter. Alibaba will dynamically adjust its investment strategy based on the competitive landscape in the market, according to a Securities Times report on November 26.

The re-branding, on one hand, continues to amplify the concentration of resource elements and network scale effects, while on the other hand, enables merchants to form new service ecosystems through business linkages and acquire more merchants from new business formats, Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the Global Times on Friday.

This year saw fierce competition in China's instant retail sales sector as major players bank on the fast-growing food delivery modality to cater to consumers' rising demand for instant retail services, according to media reports.

China has issued a new recommended national standard for food delivery platforms, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Thursday.

The new standard is designed to address long-standing issues in the industry, including "ghost kitchens" - food outlets that exist only virtually on delivery apps without a proper physical storefront - irrational competition practices, and insufficient protection of delivery workers' rights, according to a meeting readout on the SAMR's official WeChat account.