Why Food Delivery is Everywhere
According to the weather report, it’s only 10 degrees Celsius. But, it’s around dinner time. Rather than grabbing your coat and going outside, you can simply take out your cell phone and make a cuisine delivery order. Based on a survey from Euromonitor International (2019), the players of global online food service delivery players rise doubly in the field of online foodservice sales with 6.9% in 2019, which demonstrates that the market of online food delivery has grown continuously in these days. It is believed that not only the change in human habits due to busy lifestyle results in the increase of food delivery, but the practices of advanced technology used by delivery messengers and customers do contribute to the growth of this phenomenon.
Nowadays, people are “busy” all the time, and this situation drives them to use the food delivery platforms for ordering meals rather than cooking by themselves. On account of the progress of civilization, people tend to do more professional work and their workloads are more than those in agricultural societies. Therefore, people are occupied by heavy workload all the time and thus they are appealed to convenience that food delivery brings, which is the idea that Garrick Brown mentioned in the Atlantic (2019). Ordering online foodservice delivery helps workers spare some time from cooking or shopping for ingredients. Due to the hustling lifestyle, people try to snatch a little time from some daily routine, like cooking, in order to fill in the hours deprived by work. Thus, ordering cuisines online and having them presented at a house door become the trend to correspond to this busy society that modern humans live in.
Another reason for the growth of food delivery business is on account of the improved technology used by delivery couriers. With the assistance of accurate online indicators, like Google Map, delivery messengers are able to get the food to the destination within a certain period of time. According to a journal article (Correa et al., 2019) entitled “ Evaluation of Collaborative Consumption of Food Delivery Services through Web Mining Techniques”, food delivery men are able to check the latest traffic condition through online guides. Furthermore, some providers of online traffic service offer the analysis which combines the time range for every carriage and the relevant data of traffic dynamics. With that comprehensive evaluation, food delivery platforms can do several adjustments on a price discount for delayed cuisines and supply a more precise estimated time to customers.
As for customers, the availability of the Internet with cell phones makes the phases of getting a meal efficiently by providing multiple cuisine options and variable payment ways. Based on the statement by Evans (2019) in Euromonitor International, it points out that people are prone to browse a multitude of restaurants in a short time. Because different types of dishes are placed on the same page by online food delivery platforms, people can make up their mind by easily comparing distinct food choices. After making the decision, consumers can also choose the method they want to pay. If there is not enough cash in people’s wallet at that time and they are unwilling to withdraw money from ATM, they could just have online payment with a credit card.
In conclusion, the causes for the increase of food delivery services are lying in the change of human habits in modern days and the contribution of progressive technology toward both delivery couriers and consumers. Ordering food online and receiving the cuisines at home seem to become a main trend for consuming in the future. The rise of delivered companies, like foodpanda or UberEATS, might become another markets to be involved in. However, some concerns of this industry also still require our attention, for instance, the safety of messengers or the transition for traditional restaurants. The government should introduce related legislations to ensure the security of delivery couriers and provide proper consultation platforms to the outdated restaurants.
References:
1.Evans, M. (2019). Disruption by Food Delivery Platforms, Euromonitor International. Retrieved from: https://blog.euromonitor.com/disruption-by-food-delivery-platforms/
2.Brown, G. (2019). The Booming, Ethically Dubious Business of Food Delivery, The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/all-food-will-be-delivered/595222/
3. Correa, C.J., Garzón,W., Brooker P., Sakarkar G., Carranza A. S., Yunado L., & Rincón A. (2019). Evaluation of collaborative consumption of food delivery services through web mining techniques, ELSEVIER. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698918302339#keys0005
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