Last week, transportation giant Uber rolled out its new food delivery platform, UberEATS. The idea behind this was simple: download the app, select your food choice from their partner restaurants, and get it delivered to your doorstep in under 30 minutes.
Retaining the namesake of its parent company could give UberEATS a considerable advantage when it comes to branding, especially since Uber has already built up a loyal customer base for itself. But breaking into an already saturated market with big names like foodpanda and Deliveroo – not to mention the dozens of new startups surfacing each week – might make it difficult for UberEATS to claim a large slice of the pie.
So let’s break it down – how well does UberEATS fare against its competitors?
Delivery Charge
UberEATS: Delivery charges are slated to be at $3, but that will be waived for now.
Deliveroo: A flat fee of $3 is charged for each delivery. A $5 surcharge is added on top of the delivery fee for orders under $25.
foodpanda: Delivery charges are determined by individual restaurants – places such as Curry Xpress and Makan @ Jen will deliver for free if you hit a minimum order.
Winner: UberEATS (at the moment)
Delivery Areas
UberEATS: These guys have had a great start, but here’s where they fall flat: their services are only restricted to four areas – the Central Business District (CBD), Tanjong Pagar, Orchard and River Valley. They do have plans to expand their delivery areas though, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Deliveroo: Deliveroo currently serves in 26 zones islandwide.
foodpanda: Islandwide – there’s always a restaurant for everyone.
Winner: foodpanda / Deliveroo
Delivery Hours
UberEATS: 11:00am to 10:00pm, seven days a week.
foodpanda: 9:30am to 10:30pm, seven days a week.
Deliveroo: 12:00nn to 11:00pm, seven days a week; also includes a breakfast delivery in the CBD area from 8:00am – 11:00am.
Winner: foodpanda
Number Of Restaurants
UberEATS: Over 100 restaurants, including foodie favourites Burnt Ends, Eight Treasures, Fort by Maison Ikkoku and Pluck.
foodpanda: Over 700 restaurants across the island, including Nandos, Manhattan Fish Market and 4Fingers.
Deliveroo: Over 1,300 partner restaurants – their more popular ones being Cedele, PS. Cafe and Potato Head Folk.
Winner: Deliveroo
Right now, UberEATS’ limited delivery area does place it at a considerable disadvantage, but things might be different once it expands its service to include other regions.
Though that $15 discount definitely wouldn’t hurt its chances. From now until 30 June, UberEATS is giving Singaporean users $15 off their first order in a bid to encourage more people to use the service. Simply download the app and enter the promo codes UBEREATSSG or FEEDSG.
Whether or not UberEATS will be a mainstay in the food delivery industry remains to be seen, but if Uber’s success is to be of any indication, these guys should be alright.