What it really costs for food delivery vs. pick-up

Why it matters: Food delivery apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash cost consumers more and tighten already tight margins for businesses, but we’ve come to rely on them during the pandemic.

The cost of the same meal can vary dramatically whether you purchase direct from the restaurant and pick it up or order delivery from one of half a dozen apps.

Here’s an example from popular pizzeria Inizio, with locations in Dilworth, south Charlotte and Huntersville.

My order: 

• 16-inch pistachio pizza ($22 pick-up, $23.50 on apps)
• Chopped Italian salad ($10 pick-up, $11 on apps)
• Tiramisu cannoli ($4.50 pick-up, $5 on apps).



Let’s break it down.

• The meal costs $3 more on the apps. “The margins [Uber Eats and Postmates] take are unacceptable straight off the menu,” Inizio owner Grant Arons tells me, so it’s very common for a restaurant to up their prices.
• Then, there’s the delivery fee, which varies from restaurant to restaurant, app to app, even day to day.
• The kicker is really in the miscellaneous “fees” category — typically billed as service fees — which brings the Postmates meal to nearly $58, about 45% more than pick-up.
• And don’t forget to tip. It’s been a challenging year for all in the service industry, so whether you’re ordering delivery or picking up, go for 20%.

“Any time you’re adding an extra cog in the wheel, there’s things outside the restaurants control,” Arons says. But, as a pizza restaurant, he says he doesn’t have much say in the matter.

Hiring an internal delivery team is costly and complicated, so while utilizing these apps may hurt margins some, they’re worth it in the end, Arons adds.

What can you do? Order pick up directly through a restaurant — that usually means picking up the phone and calling your order in. (Inizio has online ordering through its website, though.) And if you’re comfortable dining out now, do that.