Here’s the good news: Consumer approval ratings of third-party delivery are pretty darn high.
A recent secret shopper survey by researcher Intouch Insight found that 91% of customers reported being satisfied with their experience using DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub. That’s a very strong rating, all things considered.
That being said, the survey also identified some areas for improvement. During a presentation at the FSTEC conference Thursday, consumer data specialists Cameron Watt of Intouch Insight and Robert Byrne of Technomic analyzed a few of those opportunities.
They are mainly on the margins. Some of them are things restaurants can do a bit better, while others fall under the purview of the apps themselves. Here’s a look.
Don’t be fast; be on time
The vast majority of delivery orders arrived either too late or too early. Just 3% of DoorDash orders hit the quoted time exactly, vs. 2% for Uber Eats and 1% for Grubhub.
Late orders are obviously not good because customers are hungry and food quality can suffer as time goes on. But orders that arrive earlier than expected can also be a problem, said Byrne, who leads consumer insights for Technomic. He pointed out that a customer might be in the shower or coming home from work and not ready to receive a premature delivery.
His broader point was that delivery apps should focus more on providing accurate estimates than speedy delivery.
“It’s important to be accurate with your timing, but the actual quickness of it is somewhat overstated,” he said.
In general, 30 minutes was the sweet spot for customers.
Hone in on accuracy during off-peak hours
The vast majority (90%) of customers in the study received exactly what they ordered. That’s a good mark, although it still means that 1 in 10 orders were wrong, so there is room for improvement.
The real area of opportunity is when business is slowest. In the late afternoon (1:31 to 4 p.m.), accuracy dipped to 87%, and late at night (8:01 to 11 p.m.) it was 86%.
These are periods when restaurants tend to have fewer workers who are juggling more responsibilities. That can have a negative impact on order accuracy.
“You have to be really careful on those off-peak parts when you’re a restaurant,” said Watt, the CEO of Intouch Insight.
Say yes to customization
Overall, 93% of customers were able to customize their delivered meal. But the ability to do so differed somewhat by menu segment. For instance, 91% who ordered pizza were unable to customize it, which is surprising given that pizza is known as a highly customizable food.
When a customer calls their local pizza place directly, they expect to be able to get a pizza made exactly to their specifications, down to individual quarters of the pie, Byrne said. But that level of customization is not always an option on delivery apps. It’s something for restaurants and apps to work on, he said.
“Consumer expectations in foodservice are that you can customize,” Watt added.
Watch those delivery fees
Delivery fees across all three apps were lower on average than their more nebulous counterparts, service fees. And consumer satisfaction seemed to hinge more on the former than the latter.
“People do not have the same visceral reaction to a high service fee than to a delivery fee,” said Watt, who noted that many people have become accustomed to free delivery thanks to Amazon Prime and other services.
Overall, satisfied customers saw an average delivery fee of $1.23, while unsatisfied customers paid an average of $2.35—a difference of more than $1.
Apps would do well to keep those delivery fees low. Fortunately for consumers, combined delivery and service fees have come down by nearly $1 over the past two years, from $6.87 in 2022 to $5.96 this year, according to Intouch Insight.
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