6 ms·

COVID-19 is like the golden age of food delivery. If these food delivery apps are not profitable now, they will probably never be profitable. When the severity

COVID-19 is like the golden age of food delivery. If these food delivery apps are not profitable now, they will probably never be profitable. When the severity of COVID subsides in a few years, people will like to go out to eat again rather than have it delivered.

iso1631 6y ago
The only reason I could think of to use something like ubereats, deliveroo, justeat, etc would be if I wanted a non-pizza delivered while I was staying in a hotel in a strange city somewhere. If I'm at home I'll look at the menu of my favourite indian/chineese/whatever place, phone them up, and they deliver it as they have done for decades. I've spent two nights in a hotel since March, normally it's 70 a year. One night I ordered a dominos as I got back to the hotel just before 2300. The other night I ate out with a supplier. Likewise with Uber, if I'm at home and not flying off somewhere, I'm not going to be ordering a taxi, either to get to the airport, or when I'm in a strange city on the other side of the planet. I can see this is the golden age of takeaways and home-delivery (which basically means amazon or groceries), but I don't see it for takeaways.
- cortesoft 6y ago
  I get so frustrated when people act like these food delivery services aren’t a WAY better user experience than the old version of having to call for delivery. So many times, I will be super busy with the kids, or work, or housework, and I will just pull up DoorDash with one hand (while the other is feeding a hangry 1 year old) and hit ‘reorder’ on one of my past meals. Literally 15 seconds and food is on the way. Compare this to having to call someone, wait on hold, give my phone number/address, tell them my order, correct the mistakes, find my wallet, get out my credit card, give them the number, confirm the number and expiration and security code, then sign a paper copy with the tip when the driver drops it off. Can I do the old style of delivery? Sure, but man it is a lot easier now.
  - Balgair 6y ago
    Not to trivialize your experiences (toddlers are not easy), but for me, the list you give isn't all that much of a barrier. Yes, it is simpler to use the app, but not all that much more. Also, where I am, they take the credit card at the door, not over the phone. Most use a Square-style card reader attached to a work phone, even the mom-n-pop delivery, even now in the pandemic (they use gloves mostly).
    - cortesoft 6y ago
      Again, I am not saying it isn't doable to order the old fashioned way, but the newer system is CLEARLY easier and faster. There is simply no way you could order and be done with a call in order in 15 seconds. Your argument (that it is not much of a barrier to use the old way) can be made for so many of the quality of life improvements we have made over the course of human history. Not every advancement is an entire new category of things we can accomplish; so much is just slight improvements that save time and make things a bit easier. I feel like there has been a backlash against time saving tech, where people wax nostalgic about how much better the older/slower systems were. I don't understand it. I am so happy for all the timesaving advancements we have made over the years. Now, if we don't use that saved time wisely, that is a whole other issue. However, I don't think going back to slower systems is the solution to not using our free time well.
      - pintxo 6y ago
        My preferred Sushi place will recognize me by my phone number and take my order within seconds. Payment in cash at the door. There is no reason why the process could not be quick and hassle free, even using the phone.
        cortesoft 6y ago
        Sure, but that is still not as convenient. I don’t carry cash very often, and with doordash/grub hub, they can leave the food at the door for no contact. I can also try a ton of new restaurants without having to re-enter my details, and there is a consistent interface. In addition, I get some sort of guarantee that the place is legit... if I don’t get my food, I can get a refund.
- birdyrooster 6y ago
  Mmm Naan Pizzas are good
- awodol 6y ago
  The problem is most restaurants in my city unless they're pizza just don't deliver, and this applies to lots of cities across the country let alone suburbs.
  - iso1631 6y ago
    I wonder if it's a cultural thing, what country are you in?
    - awodol 6y ago
      US. I've had delivery when I visited family in London or Dubai where there was a much better delivery experience so I know it can be great, but it just doesn't seem to be a thing outside of a few cities here.
- rietta 6y ago
  This was exactly me in Oakland, CA, last year when on a business trip from Atlanta. On the way to the hotel, I was on a shuttle with a pilots and flight crew heading to stay overnight. Was advised not to go walking around by myself. Ended up using Doordash for the first time that night at the Hotel. Now my wife has us on the monthly subscription plan back home because of COVID.
- iso1631 6y ago
  > but I don't see it for takeaways .... from somewhere new
WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
Food delivery will probably never be profitable unless you're able to schedule food delivery days ahead... and utilize the same pathing algorithms used for regular deliveries (like UPS and Fedex). There's a maximum amount of time someone will wait (1 hour) and the product degrades after it's created (cools off)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- toast0 6y ago
  I mean, it's not that bad. Delivery is an important part of many restaurants (pizza, jimmy johns (sandwiches), chinese in many cities). The issue in my mind is those restaurants with hugh delivery volume can do multiple deliveries in a single run, and can time the completion of the food to the return of the driver, so the food doesn't spend a lot of time sitting at the restaurant, and neither does the driver. It's very hard to do that when you're aggregating restaurants and drivers.
  - WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
    Right, but there's an incentive to perform well because if you don't, the food is returned. Uber can just write off the loss as more and more money is shoveled into it like coal was shoveled into an engine on a trail.
Reedx 6y ago
I'm guessing they're just trying to hold on until they can convert to robotic delivery. Then it'll be profitable. In the meantime they're preloading the platform, building brand recognition, etc.

iso1631 6y ago

The only reason I could think of to use something like ubereats, deliveroo, justeat, etc would be if I wanted a non-pizza delivered while I was staying in a hotel in a strange city somewhere. If I'm at home I'll look at the menu of my favourite indian/chineese/whatever place, phone them up, and they deliver it as they have done for decades. I've spent two nights in a hotel since March, normally it's 70 a year. One night I ordered a dominos as I got back to the hotel just before 2300. The other night I ate out with a supplier. Likewise with Uber, if I'm at home and not flying off somewhere, I'm not going to be ordering a taxi, either to get to the airport, or when I'm in a strange city on the other side of the planet. I can see this is the golden age of takeaways and home-delivery (which basically means amazon or groceries), but I don't see it for takeaways.

cortesoft 6y ago
I get so frustrated when people act like these food delivery services aren’t a WAY better user experience than the old version of having to call for delivery. So many times, I will be super busy with the kids, or work, or housework, and I will just pull up DoorDash with one hand (while the other is feeding a hangry 1 year old) and hit ‘reorder’ on one of my past meals. Literally 15 seconds and food is on the way. Compare this to having to call someone, wait on hold, give my phone number/address, tell them my order, correct the mistakes, find my wallet, get out my credit card, give them the number, confirm the number and expiration and security code, then sign a paper copy with the tip when the driver drops it off. Can I do the old style of delivery? Sure, but man it is a lot easier now.
- Balgair 6y ago
  Not to trivialize your experiences (toddlers are not easy), but for me, the list you give isn't all that much of a barrier. Yes, it is simpler to use the app, but not all that much more. Also, where I am, they take the credit card at the door, not over the phone. Most use a Square-style card reader attached to a work phone, even the mom-n-pop delivery, even now in the pandemic (they use gloves mostly).
  - cortesoft 6y ago
    Again, I am not saying it isn't doable to order the old fashioned way, but the newer system is CLEARLY easier and faster. There is simply no way you could order and be done with a call in order in 15 seconds. Your argument (that it is not much of a barrier to use the old way) can be made for so many of the quality of life improvements we have made over the course of human history. Not every advancement is an entire new category of things we can accomplish; so much is just slight improvements that save time and make things a bit easier. I feel like there has been a backlash against time saving tech, where people wax nostalgic about how much better the older/slower systems were. I don't understand it. I am so happy for all the timesaving advancements we have made over the years. Now, if we don't use that saved time wisely, that is a whole other issue. However, I don't think going back to slower systems is the solution to not using our free time well.
    - pintxo 6y ago
      My preferred Sushi place will recognize me by my phone number and take my order within seconds. Payment in cash at the door. There is no reason why the process could not be quick and hassle free, even using the phone.
      - cortesoft 6y ago
        Sure, but that is still not as convenient. I don’t carry cash very often, and with doordash/grub hub, they can leave the food at the door for no contact. I can also try a ton of new restaurants without having to re-enter my details, and there is a consistent interface. In addition, I get some sort of guarantee that the place is legit... if I don’t get my food, I can get a refund.
birdyrooster 6y ago
Mmm Naan Pizzas are good
awodol 6y ago
The problem is most restaurants in my city unless they're pizza just don't deliver, and this applies to lots of cities across the country let alone suburbs.
- iso1631 6y ago
  I wonder if it's a cultural thing, what country are you in?
  - awodol 6y ago
    US. I've had delivery when I visited family in London or Dubai where there was a much better delivery experience so I know it can be great, but it just doesn't seem to be a thing outside of a few cities here.
rietta 6y ago
This was exactly me in Oakland, CA, last year when on a business trip from Atlanta. On the way to the hotel, I was on a shuttle with a pilots and flight crew heading to stay overnight. Was advised not to go walking around by myself. Ended up using Doordash for the first time that night at the Hotel. Now my wife has us on the monthly subscription plan back home because of COVID.
iso1631 6y ago
> but I don't see it for takeaways .... from somewhere new

WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago

Food delivery will probably never be profitable unless you're able to schedule food delivery days ahead... and utilize the same pathing algorithms used for regular deliveries (like UPS and Fedex). There's a maximum amount of time someone will wait (1 hour) and the product degrades after it's created (cools off)

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
toast0 6y ago
I mean, it's not that bad. Delivery is an important part of many restaurants (pizza, jimmy johns (sandwiches), chinese in many cities). The issue in my mind is those restaurants with hugh delivery volume can do multiple deliveries in a single run, and can time the completion of the food to the return of the driver, so the food doesn't spend a lot of time sitting at the restaurant, and neither does the driver. It's very hard to do that when you're aggregating restaurants and drivers.
- WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
  Right, but there's an incentive to perform well because if you don't, the food is returned. Uber can just write off the loss as more and more money is shoveled into it like coal was shoveled into an engine on a trail.

Reedx 6y ago

I'm guessing they're just trying to hold on until they can convert to robotic delivery. Then it'll be profitable. In the meantime they're preloading the platform, building brand recognition, etc.