Last week saw some major movement in the third-party delivery world. First, the New York Times pointed out how much delivery truly costs the consumer, noting in a headline that delivery charges can often nearly double the cost of the order itself. Then DoorDash, the industry leader with at least a third of the delivery market, announced that it plans to IPO. DoorDash last raised money at a staggering $13 billion valuation, which is equivalent to the market cap of Domino’s Pizza, the seventh-largest restaurant chain.
The contrast between these two headlines strike at the debate about whether third-party marketplaces are a disruptive trend or simply a passing fad for niche opportunities. At Paytronix, we are always focused on what is best for our restaurant clients. We think this issue comes down to a basic question: How does third-party delivery impact brand value?
When our clients turn to third-party aggregators for delivery, it’s often because they are testing a service model outside of their four walls at a very low cost. Conversely, in-house fulfillment has fixed costs for recruiting and training, and during the early stages, it’s not obvious that enough orders will come in to cover it all.
Delivery’s Cost to the Consumer
An article in the New York Times suggests that what’s truly happening here is that the costs are shifting to the consumer, which is just making meals more expensive. “Up to 91% More Expensive: How Delivery Apps Eat Up Your Budget” found that orders placed with the top four delivery companies– Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats – came with a markup of between 7% and 91%. On top of that, there were some truly crazy charges, such as a $3 “small order” fee from Uber Eats.
Some brands hike their menu prices for delivery orders, while others list higher prices within the app to compensate for increased delivery costs. Yet consumers may be willing to pay these incremental costs to enjoy the benefits of ordering and eating without ever having to leave their couch. […]
