Delivering happiness
The rise of food delivery services
February 26, 2019
Life in America can get very hectic at times. Some people are so busy, that they do not have the time to wait in lines at restaurants, nor do they have the time to drive down to a fast food place. Many Americans now rely on local food delivery services such as Grubhub, DoorDash, and Postmates.
Food delivery services allow customers to order food from their favorite restaurants on their mobile devices. From there, the food is delivered to their house. Since this is convenient for many, people are becoming regular customers, causing businesses such as GrubHub to thrive. In order for restaurants to continue to do well with sales or even do better, they have put themselves on the list of available options that deliver. The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) released a report. “Online food delivery market will grow from $35 billion globally today to $365 billion by 2030.” They also brought up a scenario in which, “by 2030, most meals currently cooked at home are instead ordered online and delivered from either restaurants or central kitchens.” This could possibly forever change the ways of cooking in the household itself.
Micha Magid, owner of Mighty Quinn’s Barbecue, would rather have customers dine in at his restaurant. “You get a much better experience when food does not have to travel for 15 minutes. It is hotter and better… But if someone wants to stay home and get great barbecue, we want to deliver that.’’Many owners, like Magrid, have noticed a drastic increase in their sales ever since they partnered with a delivery service.
Grubhub and DoorDash are the two companies that are available in the Gainesville and Haymarket area. According to the App Store, DoorDash is rated #1 in the ‘Food & Drink’ category. Grubhub is close behind ranking at #3. They both have an average of a 4.8 star rating.
Sophomore Jenelle Omari frequently has food delivered to her house because of her parents work. “I personally like DoorDash more because I feel like my food gets to me faster, but that might just be because of how close I am to the restaurant.” She believes that “(this) makes us lazy, but it also saves us time so that you can multitask and eat a good meal at the same time. Personally, I do think it is overpriced you are basically paying for two meals but only getting one thing because then they tie in tax, delivery, and fees that I do not even know about.” In the end, she concluded that she enjoys the fact that she does not have to wait in lines for food.
Grubhub, DoorDash, and other companies are continuing to grow. Day by day, the list of restaurants gets larger. Some think of it as companies growing off of others to make money, while many think it is a way for partnerships to form and thrive.