The Rise of Food Delivery Apps on Your Phone

Your favorite restaurants and cafes are creating their own food delivery apps. Think of it as even faster fast food. It’s the flavor that you want without the wait, and it’s perfect for those all-night study sessions, a late night at the office, or a laidback evening in.

Food Delivery Apps Are on the Rise

These apps were slow to catch on at first. But now, chain restaurants like Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, Cinnabon, Panera Bread, and Starbucks have hopped on board the food delivery wagon. Even Burger King played with a food delivery app, testing it out in smaller markets to help determine whether or not to roll it out to a larger crowd. McDonald’s offers delivery, too — now that’s fast food.

But chains aren’t the only ones with fast home delivery. Even locally-owned restaurants are joining in — even though it often means restructuring staff in the process. After all, someone has to man the phone, and there needs to be someone to deliver all of those meals so that they arrive hot and fresh, just as though they were ordered in-house.

The restaurants don’t even need to create their own apps. Many restaurants rely on food delivery apps like DoorDash and Postmates. These services enable users to place orders for food from their favorite places, but the apps don’t have a contract with the businesses.

Other apps, like Eat24 and GrubHub, do partner up with restaurants, earning themselves a commission for each order that you place. They help ensure quality control because the restaurant has already opted into the service (and can tweak menu items for delivery accordingly).

Buyer beware, though. There has been the occasional issue of soggy or cold food dropped off by couriers. Others have complained of price changes between restaurant pricing and delivery menu pricing offered by non-partnered delivery apps. It’s something to keep in mind while you are deciding which food delivery app to use.

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