ByteDance’s Billion-Dollar Experiment: What Happens When You Cut Off a Growing App’s Life Support?
ByteDance cut subsidies and traffic to its local life app DouShengSheng after just four months, forcing it to prove independent value. The real moat in local services isn’t bought traffic—it’s ingrained user intent and merchant trust. Meituan’s Dianping still owns that habit, and ByteDance’s stress test will reveal if money can truly buy a fortress.