During 2020, food delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats grew in popularity, but when the pandemic hit, these apps skyrocketed in popularity. These apps may look great and convenient, but they’re terrible for everyone involved. People should stop using them until there is a real solution that can work for everyone.
It would seem that, as popular as these apps are, they are the ones that would benefit from this activity. They earn billions of dollars every year; however, they have no profit yet. Throughout 2020, Uber Eats has created $4.8 billion In income. This is a staggering amount of money, but the costs of operating and running one of these apps are also high.
These companies obviously spend a lot of money paying their drivers, but they also spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion. At the very top of the DoorDash app, there’s a section that’s just promotions. It’s one of the first things you see when you open the app. These promotions are one of the many reasons these businesses are not profitable. The fact that these companies aren’t making money should be reason enough to rethink how they operate, but it doesn’t stop there.
Apps are also terrible for delivery drivers, and it’s no secret. Drivers are treated as self-employed, meaning they don’t get the same benefits, like health care or retirement, as employees. They also don’t pay for external costs like gas or repairs that might be needed on the car due to food delivery. While the pay isn’t terrible, considering the lack of benefits and car maintenance, it’s not great.
These apps are also terrible for the restaurants that process them. Many local restaurants don’t have the resources to pay their own drivers, so they have to use these apps if they want to deliver to people. On average, these apps have a 30% commission for the restaurants that use them.
The pandemic has forced many restaurants to use these apps to stay open. Many restaurants couldn’t get people in and seated to eat, so they relied on takeout and delivery apps. That means restaurants that were already struggling to stay afloat weren’t making as much money as they should.
Finally, these applications are not ideal for the consumer. Sure, they’re convenient, but they’re not cheap. You have delivery charges and everything clear when you checkout, but they also charge you in other ways. Menu items can be more expensive on delivery apps than they would be if you were ordering at a restaurant. In a VideoDrew Gooden done on this topic, it showed that a Chipotle burrito can cost almost $2 more than it would if you used the Chipotle app. Yes, they’re convenient, but that’s a pretty big price hike for convenience, especially if you use these apps regularly.
These apps do not help anyone. The companies are unprofitable, hurting local restaurants, underpaying their drivers and overcharging their consumers. Until there is a real solution that benefits local restaurants, drivers, or consumers, people should limit their use of these services.
Mark Warren can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @MarkWarren1832
