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Services: Best Meal Delivery
1. DoorDash
doordash.com
In 2019, The Atlantic declared that “eating in is the new dining out.” And that became even more true with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. And no one in the eat-in delivery space has had a more meteoric rise than DoorDash, the online food ordering and delivery platform based in San Francisco and founded by a group of Stanford students.
DoorDash owns a 56 percent market share in the food-delivery sector, according to Bloomberg’s “Second Measure.”
Unlike services such as GrubHub, which create demand for restaurants that already manage and operate their own delivery, DoorDash staked its position as a logistics and technology-driven company that provides and manages a delivery service for restaurants. What this means is that restaurants that didn’t deliver can now do so and restaurants that offered delivery are able to outsource the service.
“We’re really focused on selection and getting whatever you want,” said Abby Homer, spokesperson for DoorDash.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, the Door Dash platform served 450,000 merchants, including 54,000 in California, had 20 million regular monthly consumers and 1 million monthly delivery drivers, or dashers as the company calls them.
A popular feature of the company is a $9.99 per month Dash Pass that provides free delivery for orders of more than $12 and has 5 million members, the most in the industry. The company is also expanding to deliver items other than meals, including alcohol and groceries.
In December 2018, Door Dash eclipsed Uber Eats as the No. 2 meal delivery company in the U.S. and three months later it overtook GrubHub for the top spot.
– Greg Mellen
2. Postmates
Multiple locations; postmates.com
Although a main player in food delivery, Postmates likes to say it will deliver “anything from anywhere.”
And it is this diversity that has made the platform particularly strong in the Southern California market and with Register readers. In addition to meals, Postmates regularly delivers groceries, alcohol and flowers.
Postmates had deals with more than 600,000 restaurants, more than any other platform, and that was before it was purchased by Uber in a deal finalized in 2020.
Already a strong presence in Southern California, Postmates pairs with Uber Eats’ more than 500,000 restaurant partners.
Both delivery apps continue to run separately but are “supported by a more efficient, combined merchant and delivery network,” the company said in a statement.
Like other popular delivery providers, Postmates has a monthly Unlimited program at $9.99 per month and $99.99 per year with free delivery on orders over $12 and no added fees during “blitz hours.”
The company best known for its highly successful ride-hailing services had been a late arrival in meal delivery. However, it is making up for lost ground. Although it services fewer cities than its competition, Uber Eats is gaining market share. An informal study by Marketwatch found the service had slightly lower delivery costs than its competitors.
The company’s acquisition of Postmates is expected to strengthen Uber’s toehold in Southern California, although for now the companies will continue with different platforms.
In the future, Uber hopes to flip the field by using drones to assist in deliveries, which is pending FAA approval. The company also announced it plans to launch a national “listening tour” to learn more about merchant needs across North America.
3. Uber Eats
Multiple locations; ubereats.com
