Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Delivery apps become essential for restaurants to survive during pandemic

Delivery apps become essential for restaurants to survive during pandemic

Working from home also means a lot of eating from home.
As an Uber Eats-commissioned study revealed, we're chowing down on a lot of delivery and takeout while the coronavirus pandemic surges. A June survey with food service research firm Technomic asked 400 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada about third-party delivery services. All 400 restaurants partner with Uber Eats, and all but 50 work with other food delivery apps, as well. Almost 75 percent of those restaurants saw delivery app sales go up during the outbreak.

From the survey, 92 percent of restaurants said they used a delivery app after March 15 when the pandemic effectively started in the U.S. That's 27 percent more restaurants using one of the apps (there's Grubhub, Postmates, DoorDash, and others) than before the outbreak. Of restaurants that only recently started working with a delivery service almost 90 percent said they'd continue. In the middle of a pandemic, restaurants are practically forced to use delivery apps for visibility and the delivery workers that the apps bring with them.

Even if restaurants have to give up to 25 percent back to the apps, at least orders are higher than ever. The study found the average check for delivery went up 69 percent from $34.10 before March 15 to $57.50 since then.

Uber Eats added a donation option (on top of any tips for delivery workers and the restaurant) in April for restaurants that used to depend mostly on dine-in sales. Uber Eats customers donated about $17 million directly to restaurants so far. More than 90 percent of the 400 restaurants surveyed had in-person dining available before COVID-19. Now only 20 percent still offer sit-down service.

As Janelle Sallenave, head of Uber Eats in the U.S. and Canada said in a recent press briefing, once the pandemic struck "dine-in came to a grinding halt." Delivery went from being "a small part of restaurants' business to the dominant or only aspect of their business."

As we continue to depend on delivery apps, Uber Eats added some new features for restaurant operators and some new looks and incentives in the customer app. Through the end of the year Uber Eats is continuing with no delivery fees for any Black-owned businesses on the app. Pick-up orders through the app also won't take a cut from restaurants. Customers never had a pick-up fee, but now also restaurants - which have been dealing with more pick-up orders because of COVID-19 - won't have a fee until the end of 2020.

Also starting Tuesday, you'll notice a "Top Eats" badge for restaurants that hit five behind-the-scenes benchmarks from the previous three months.

As a customer you won't see that your favorite sandwich place only has 1 percent missed orders, but you will see a badge on the restaurant's profile in the app and more prominent placement within the app.

And so, the cycle of online ordering carries on.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×