Why you should (and shouldn’t) offer food delivery services
Last week, we explored numerous reasons why your restaurant or store should be delivering food. From the benefits of ghost restaurants to grocery delivery, we’ve considered the best parts of food delivery and why it’s one of the most important aspects of food technology. But what about the negatives? Surely there are reasons why you shouldn’t be delivering food? Here’s our quick guide on why you should (and shouldn’t) offer food delivery services.
Pro: Increased check sizes
According to food technology masters at TouchBistro, restaurants can see an increase in check sizes by up to a massive 20% from delivery compared to dine-in orders. This means more people ordering more food in one go. More food in one go means more profit.
Con: Delivery fees
On the other hand, you’ll no doubt notice a smaller margin of profit. If it isn’t obvious enough, to deliver food to your customers, you’ll need delivery drivers. Either you’ll be using your own delivery service, meaning hiring your own couriers and paying car/motorcycle taxes and petrol, or paying service fees to a third party company such as Uber Eats or Deliveroo. Regardless of which path you take, you’ll need to be selling more to make deliveries worth it.
Pro: Increased exposure
As we explored when looking at the general importance of food delivery, opening up your store for delivery leads to greater exposure. Greater exposure means more people will find your restaurant and more people will make a purchase.
The benefits of increased exposure are invaluable. Not only does the immediate effect mean someone new might find your company and make an order, but they might then go on to tell a friend or family member, and so on.
Con: Uncontrollable aspects
Naturally, there’s going to be traffic on the roads, diversions and all sorts of things that delay food delivery. Any deliveries that take longer than expected or cold may provoke negative reviews and poor company representation.
Depending on the area and time of day, it likely won’t happen all that much. Unfortunately, however, it isn’t something that you can always control, and it’s down to the customer to be understanding.
Pro: Increased frequency of grocery orders
According to Igor Rozhkov, CMO of top Russian e-grocery service Samokat, after about 10-20 purchases online, the average check is different – ‘it’s smaller, but the frequency of orders increases’. Since people are ordering more times, even if the orders are smaller, you’ll generally see more items bought overall and an increased profit.
Con: Increased workload
If your restaurant offers both delivery and dine-in, your employees will have to juggle two different types of orders as well as increased orders and increased order size. This means more work, more stress, and more chances of making mistakes when making/serving food. While customers dining in can easily complain and get their order corrected, it isn’t as easy for deliveries. You can make up for this by renting a ghost kitchen or simply hiring more staff, but this means paying more wages, and then the profit margin will be even tighter.
Pro (and con): Increased competition
We’re putting this down as both a pro and a con. Offering delivery means jumping into a whole new area that’s already swarmed with competitors. This means you’ll have to work harder to get your name at the top of the list.
On the other hand, SberMarket’s Elena Ivanova believes that increased competition is a good thing for the industry, that in fact, it’s healthy. Not only does this inspire your employees to work their hardest, but competitors will take some of the hectic workloads off your business and any good feedback will put you on top of any competitors.
Overall, food delivery is a massive win for any restaurant or grocery store. Especially in these uncertain times where not everyone can get out of the house, offering delivery means more people are able to get your food safely. It also shows that your business is keeping up with the times.
Most food delivery cons seem minor when compared to benefits, and we strongly encourage offering delivery if your business is able to. If you’re interested in finding out more about food delivery, as well as the whole world of food tech, be sure to check out our other blogs!
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