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I've said this before but I really don't see any reason whatsoever why UberEats has to be a nationwide, or heck, even a statewide thing. This market can benefi

I've said this before but I really don't see any reason whatsoever why UberEats has to be a nationwide, or heck, even a statewide thing. This market can benefit a great deal from local players who serve just one or a handful of cities. Keep the tech simple to keep costs low. Don't need to invest in any $250k/year data scientists since you won't have a great deal of data to work with anyway (given the small scale). Lower costs means you can give restaurants and drivers a bigger cut as well. Most people who will use your app will be local residents. They don't need an app that can help them order in 500 cities across the world - they need an app that can help them order in just their city.

pedrocr 6y ago
Local services like that have existed for decades. They usually have poor websites or even phone ordering, often don't have an app, and the payment methods can be behind the times. But they have always worked fine. The new wave of VC-funded services are trying to grab away the market with both much better UX and subsidizing the deliveries. It's just that no one seems to have a viable plan to exit that phase and be profitable. Meanwhile the traditional services are being edged out of the market. I don't know how this doesn't trip up more fair competition laws because of that.
- puranjay 6y ago
  We've come to a point where the tech and UX has been commoditized enough that putting together a functional app with rock solid payment infrastructure isn't technically challenging. VC money might have pushed smaller players out of the market, but I suspect they might make a comeback soon enough
  - pedrocr 6y ago
    I've seen both cab drivers and these delivery services struggle quite a bit with that, so I'm not as optimistic.
- Jommi 6y ago
  Better and cheaper products are gaining marketshare? Someone call the government!
  - pedrocr 6y ago
    If those better and cheaper products are not covering their costs and just buying market share then yes. In well functioning consumer markets you get fined for selling below cost.
    - Jommi 6y ago
      Fined?
      - pedrocr 6y ago
        Yes, dumping prevention regulations are quite common. In the area I work in they're applied at the SKU level even, not even at the aggregate of the transaction.
Jommi 6y ago
For sure this is going to happen. It's already happening with ridehailing in Europe. Small local players have minimal expenses, still stay afloat, and keep the international player in check.

pedrocr 6y ago

Local services like that have existed for decades. They usually have poor websites or even phone ordering, often don't have an app, and the payment methods can be behind the times. But they have always worked fine. The new wave of VC-funded services are trying to grab away the market with both much better UX and subsidizing the deliveries. It's just that no one seems to have a viable plan to exit that phase and be profitable. Meanwhile the traditional services are being edged out of the market. I don't know how this doesn't trip up more fair competition laws because of that.

puranjay 6y ago
We've come to a point where the tech and UX has been commoditized enough that putting together a functional app with rock solid payment infrastructure isn't technically challenging. VC money might have pushed smaller players out of the market, but I suspect they might make a comeback soon enough
- pedrocr 6y ago
  I've seen both cab drivers and these delivery services struggle quite a bit with that, so I'm not as optimistic.
Jommi 6y ago
Better and cheaper products are gaining marketshare? Someone call the government!
- pedrocr 6y ago
  If those better and cheaper products are not covering their costs and just buying market share then yes. In well functioning consumer markets you get fined for selling below cost.
  - Jommi 6y ago
    Fined?
    - pedrocr 6y ago
      Yes, dumping prevention regulations are quite common. In the area I work in they're applied at the SKU level even, not even at the aggregate of the transaction.

Jommi 6y ago

For sure this is going to happen. It's already happening with ridehailing in Europe. Small local players have minimal expenses, still stay afloat, and keep the international player in check.