Online delivery has changed the way the entire world works – and these days it’s possible to have anything you want straight to your doorstep. From groceries to pharmacy, almost everything is available at the touch of a button on platforms like Uber Eats. This focus and fixation on convenience has radically shaped consumer spending, and businesses have to deal with more touch points now than ever. In this guide we’ll discuss the origins of food delivery, how it has developed over the years and the latest tactics to drive more online sales for your business.
Where did the concept of food delivery originate?
Arguably, food delivery has been around for centuries – royals and nobles calling on local chefs to produce product and have it sent to imperial quarters. Some of the oldest records of food delivery are from the Ming Dynasty – in which Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered a group of XX chefs to procure and produce a range of amazing dishes to celebrate his inauguration. While it has changed significantly since then – namely on the affordability piece due to better logistics and technology – the concept remains the same. You want something specific and you want it now. Fast forward to more modern times, the real pioneers of the delivery model were the Chinese and Pizza Chain restaurants of the 1990s – the fast ‘takeaway’ – that really sparked the revolution that we saw some ten years later. These services became iconic in movies and television, permeating popular culture and driving adoption across the mass market. However, it was the smartphone’s creation that really took things to the next level. These little handheld devices were about to totally shake up technology and set us on a course that would take convenience to the next level. Companies like Uber Eats emerged – promising food in 40 minutes or less at the touch of a button thanks to their amazing logistics network and merchant software – and the rest is history.
What are the benefits of food delivery?
Food delivery marketplaces like Uber Eats have catapulted takeaway to being one of the top meal opportunities for humans, globally. Global estimates are that of the average adult population with access to these services, generally you process ~1.2 orders/month with a food delivery platform. Interestingly experts believe that there is still massive headroom to grow the size of meal opportunities here, which is why these companies continue to raise cash and grow significantly – even during economic downturns. For you as an operator or employee, food delivery is now such an established part of everyday living that – unless you’re in fine dining – you have to be on these marketplaces to supplement your regular trading income. It provides you access to entirely new customers that might not be within your local radius, and additionally is another digital presence for you beyond social media to get in front of customers.
What are the drawbacks of food delivery?
While we won’t spend time arguing here about any ethical issues in online food delivery – it probably is worth us considering the drawbacks of having what we call ‘aggregated marketplaces’ which is what Uber Eats is. These business models aggregate demand, maybe better explained as customers, and present to them a range of options to select from – like your store. While it’s fantastic to offer these customers so much choice, it comes at a significant cost to you – the merchant – because these marketplaces are the ones providing you the customer. While this might not always be the case – for example, a customer might search your restaurant directly – it generally isn’t, meaning they find your store while browsing cuisines or the general Uber Eats feed. The result of this is that you must pay to play – anywhere between 20% to 30% of the gross sale as commission to the marketplace – which is very steep, and a significant customer acquisition cost. Further, these marketplaces don’t provide the data back to you – because technically it’s their customer, not yours. This is problematic because it prevents you from re-marketing to these individuals, creating and driving loyalty or even just communicating with them.
What can businesses do?
In essence, the world of digital sales means that you need to be selling everywhere, anywhere and all-at-once. As a result, it is fundamentally best to pursue multiple platforms and channels to reach as many customers as possible. This means selling on all available markets – like Uber Eats – but also creating your own channel of direct sales for your website, social media and Google Business Profiles. Ideally, you want all or most of your storefronts visible to as many people as you can to convert sales. You will also want to stabilize your listings across these marketplaces and the direct storefront – ensuring price parity, alongside photos, item descriptions and more.
How do I build a direct sales channel?
Firstly, it is important to set your expectations. In most parts of the world 50-90% of transactions go through a marketplace – the experience there is generally better, controllable and they have spent billions of dollars building their products. This doesn’t mean you should simply give up on direct sales, but adjust your frame of reference. If you are able to grow direct sales to even 5-10% of your business, you will be saving thousands of dollars in commission and at the same time growing your customer database – collecting phone numbers and email addresses – to then use for marketing. With klikit, we can not only integrate your Uber Eats orders directly, but also connect with Uber Direct to enable your own direct ordering channel. We have worked hard to create an ‘out-of-the-box’ experience for merchants that is reminiscent of the global food delivery giants, and in some cases we believe better.
Enter klikit Webshop.
What is klikit Webshop?
klikit Webshop is a direct-to-customer ordering experience that can be used for dine-in, pickup or delivery. It looks, feels and performs just like a food delivery application – except it’s all from within a web browser. This means your customers don’t have to download yet another application, and you also don’t need to manage the headache of listing, fixing and publishing new versions on the Apple and Google Play Stores. Additional benefits include the ability to sell multiple brands by default – or rather ‘multi-brand-single-cart’ transactions; perfect for ghost kitchens, food courts or markets and other multi-concept vendors. We also can enable for you a customer loyalty points program – to encourage your customers to earn and burn points – not only with your store, but a range of other participating outlets. Lastly, we have a customisable promotion engine with a range of options for you to attract, reward and retain customers directly.
How does the delivery work with Uber Direct?
To power instant delivery we are partnered with Uber Direct – allowing us to tap directly into the Uber Fleet to ensure professional drivers fulfill your orders at the best possible price. Our system lets you configure a range of rules to control when to dispatch a driver, and you can set up radiuses to ensure you target exactly who you want. Our system performs all these dispatches automatically in the background, and is totally integrated with your store order management device. This makes direct ordering a total breeze, especially alongside other marketplace channels – and doesn’t impact your store or staff.
How do I get started?
We’d love to chat – feel free to get in touch with us using our Contact Us page, or through live support and we’ll get onto it right away!
