Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 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

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
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
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
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
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×