| A driver delivers food on his scooter in Seoul in this 2020 file photo. Yonhap |
By Kim Jae-heun
More and more consumers are visiting restaurants to pick up their online-ordered food due to soaring delivery fees.
The country's No. 2 food delivery platform Yogiyo said on Monday the number of people making pickup and takeout orders has skyrocketed by nearly 100 times year-on-year for the period of Jan. 1 to 11.
“We did promote a discount event for takeout services also, but such a high rise in the delivery fee has contributed mainly to the increasing number of customers visiting restaurants,” a Yogiyo official said.
The No. 1 player Baedal Minjok (Baemin) also saw takeaway orders soar last year, from 3.5 percent in January to 12.6 percent in October.
A shortage of food ingredients has contributed to increased prices on local online platforms, but the soaring labor costs for delivery drivers have played the biggest role.
Most local agencies have raised delivery fees by 500 won to 1,000 won more as of this month. In the capital area, the average figure has jumped by 5,000 won to 6,000 won during the pandemic.
“Food delivery agencies here already raised their service fees twice in 2021. With another increase this month, consumers are feeling the delivery costs have increased too much, too quickly,” an industry source said.
Food delivery fees increase during peak demand times such as lunch and dinner or when the weather turns bad. Restaurant owners are worried as more consumers are complaining of rising delivery prices.
This is leading local fast food franchises and restaurant owners to encourage customers to pick up their online orders.
Lotte GRS, operator of Lotteria, launched its “takeaway as you drive” service recently. A fast food worker will go outside to bring customers' orders to their car when they have registered their car information on the Lotte GRS mobile application Lotte Eats. They don't have to leave the car or find a parking spot.
U.S. multinational pizza chain Domino's Pizza introduced its own “driving pick-up” service in April 2019.