With UberEats set to take off in at least 22 new countries across the world, it seems like a good time to take a closer look at what’s going on in this market segment.
Restaurants have themselves taken care of deliveries for a very long time and it’s only in recent years that delivery became a business proposition in itself. The advantage for restaurants is obvious: by outsourcing delivery to third parties, they can focus resources on improving the menu and servicing more orders. Most delivery companies send the order to the restaurant, which gets the food cooked and packed for a delivery man to pick up and drop off at the customer.
This is particularly good for smaller players with more limited resources or not enough real estate to provide for seating arrangements, i.e. the classic takeout joint.
The downside is of course the restaurant’s brand, which may be impacted if the delivery service is unsatisfactory or if the delivery staff is impolite. Plus the fact that customer data has to be ceded to the delivery company.
