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What follows is anecdotal conjecture: Grubhub has not really evolved much beyond the same core business model they have had for the past decade. The other comp

What follows is anecdotal conjecture: Grubhub has not really evolved much beyond the same core business model they have had for the past decade. The other companies are doing all sorts of partnerships, rewards, referrals, gamification of algorithms etc. Grubhub stagnated while these companies innovated

dartos 2y ago
Maybe I’m cynical, but “innovated” and implementing classic growth and marketing tactics aren’t the same.
- conductr 2y ago
  I tend to agree. I would say they were just outcompeted rather than lost an innovation battle.
the_sleaze_ 2y ago
Another armchair opinion: "GrubHub" has negative connotations in a food service situation where you're already so far removed from being able to grade how skeevy a kitchen is. Cheap chinese takeout from UberEats sounds cleaner than from Grub Hub...
- duxup 2y ago
  I agree. I think a lot of the growing pains of that industry were attached to GrubHub's name. Possibly fairly, but it still is a bit of a net negative image wise.
- xnx 2y ago
  Wait until you hear about my food delivery marketplace called SlopSpot.
  - misnome 2y ago
    And it's special discounting feature where it is cheaper if you realise you didn't order enough food: SloppySeconds
- datadrivenangel 2y ago
  Agreed. I spoke with a small restaurant owner last night (he was delivering catering for a corporate event), and he mentioned in passing that GrubHub was the only platform he wasn't on because of how aggressive and exploitative they were in terms of fees.
Sohcahtoa82 2y ago
> The other companies are doing all sorts of partnerships [..] GrubHub partnered with Amazon. Amazon Prime now includes a GrubHub+ account. I have Prime, but have yet to use GH+, but that's more because I just stopped getting food delivered in general. Not because of the price (I used DD and had the DashPass which is very much worth it if you get at least 2 deliveries/month), but because I started getting deliveries with missing items. When that happens, they won't offer to do another delivery, they'll just either refund the item or I can go pick it up. Both options defeat the purpose of ordering delivery. I either don't get my food, or I have to leave the house.
- itslennysfault 2y ago
  GrubHub was always my go to. That miiight be just because I lived in Chicago when it launched so it was the default for me for so long. I used it pretty much exclusively all through Covid lockdown, but have since stopped doing delivery much. Maybe once or twice a month. I do not have Prime (so I don't have GH+), but my credit card provides "free" DashPass so I now pretty much exclusively use Door Dash when I do get food delivered. If it wasn't for the free DashPass I'd probably still use Grub Hub
lumost 2y ago
There are two factors at work in my opinion. Doordash prioritized selection, they did online ordering even when restaurants didn't want it. Eventually the demand was high enough that restaurants adapted. Grubhub focused on the traditional take out restaurants. Doordash also mixed in multi-delivery to handle mixed alcohol/food purchases. Beyond this, tech always follows a power law distribution in returns. Doordash is the number one player, and as such will be about 10x bigger than the next runner up. How much of this is network effects/first preference vs. manufactured return is anyones guess, but most people do not want to spend time price matching doordash/grubhub on orders - so whoever has the bigger network/more customers will get the most folks.
vile_wretch 2y ago
DoorDash and Uber Eats also operate internationally and have a single cohesive brand whereas each country seems to have its own Just Eat-owned service as a result of acquisitions: JustEat in the UK, GrubHub in the US, SkipTheDishes in Canada and Menulog in Australia. All with the same branding and logo but different names and with distinct mobile applications.
- aetherson 2y ago
  Does that matter very much? How much of DoorDash's revenue can possibly come from international travelers who want to use the same app they always do?

dartos 2y ago

Maybe I’m cynical, but “innovated” and implementing classic growth and marketing tactics aren’t the same.

conductr 2y ago
I tend to agree. I would say they were just outcompeted rather than lost an innovation battle.

the_sleaze_ 2y ago

Another armchair opinion: "GrubHub" has negative connotations in a food service situation where you're already so far removed from being able to grade how skeevy a kitchen is. Cheap chinese takeout from UberEats sounds cleaner than from Grub Hub...

duxup 2y ago
I agree. I think a lot of the growing pains of that industry were attached to GrubHub's name. Possibly fairly, but it still is a bit of a net negative image wise.
xnx 2y ago
Wait until you hear about my food delivery marketplace called SlopSpot.
- misnome 2y ago
  And it's special discounting feature where it is cheaper if you realise you didn't order enough food: SloppySeconds
datadrivenangel 2y ago
Agreed. I spoke with a small restaurant owner last night (he was delivering catering for a corporate event), and he mentioned in passing that GrubHub was the only platform he wasn't on because of how aggressive and exploitative they were in terms of fees.

Sohcahtoa82 2y ago

> The other companies are doing all sorts of partnerships [..] GrubHub partnered with Amazon. Amazon Prime now includes a GrubHub+ account. I have Prime, but have yet to use GH+, but that's more because I just stopped getting food delivered in general. Not because of the price (I used DD and had the DashPass which is very much worth it if you get at least 2 deliveries/month), but because I started getting deliveries with missing items. When that happens, they won't offer to do another delivery, they'll just either refund the item or I can go pick it up. Both options defeat the purpose of ordering delivery. I either don't get my food, or I have to leave the house.

itslennysfault 2y ago
GrubHub was always my go to. That miiight be just because I lived in Chicago when it launched so it was the default for me for so long. I used it pretty much exclusively all through Covid lockdown, but have since stopped doing delivery much. Maybe once or twice a month. I do not have Prime (so I don't have GH+), but my credit card provides "free" DashPass so I now pretty much exclusively use Door Dash when I do get food delivered. If it wasn't for the free DashPass I'd probably still use Grub Hub

lumost 2y ago

There are two factors at work in my opinion. Doordash prioritized selection, they did online ordering even when restaurants didn't want it. Eventually the demand was high enough that restaurants adapted. Grubhub focused on the traditional take out restaurants. Doordash also mixed in multi-delivery to handle mixed alcohol/food purchases. Beyond this, tech always follows a power law distribution in returns. Doordash is the number one player, and as such will be about 10x bigger than the next runner up. How much of this is network effects/first preference vs. manufactured return is anyones guess, but most people do not want to spend time price matching doordash/grubhub on orders - so whoever has the bigger network/more customers will get the most folks.

vile_wretch 2y ago

DoorDash and Uber Eats also operate internationally and have a single cohesive brand whereas each country seems to have its own Just Eat-owned service as a result of acquisitions: JustEat in the UK, GrubHub in the US, SkipTheDishes in Canada and Menulog in Australia. All with the same branding and logo but different names and with distinct mobile applications.

aetherson 2y ago
Does that matter very much? How much of DoorDash's revenue can possibly come from international travelers who want to use the same app they always do?