Australians have welcomed the rise of online food delivery apps with open arms and are throwing billions of dollars away in the name of convenience.
Lazy online shoppers are turning to delivery platforms such as UberEATS, Deliveroo, Foodora and Menulog instead of cooking at home and are spending a staggering $2.6 billion on the services.
The true price of laziness was revealed in research performed by Finder.com.au which found food delivery sales have skyrocketed to a 12 per cent slice of the country’s entire cafe, restaurant and takeaway food services industry.
Lazy online shoppers are turning to delivery platforms such as UberEATS, Deliveroo, Foodora (pictured) and Menulog instead of cooking at home and are spending a staggering $2.6 billion on the services
The true price of laziness was revealed in research performed by Finder.com.au which found food delivery sales have skyrocketed in Australia (UberEATS pictured)
The eye-opening research also found one third of adults in Australia regularly used food delivery service as sales have grown by an enormous 18 per cent in the past three years.
Finder.com.au money expert Bessie Hassan said 68 million online food orders are processed in the country every year, adding up to 7000 every hour.
‘Aussies who order through Menulog, UberEats, Deliveroo and Foodora are ordering food delivery almost once a week,’ she said.
‘Australian households spend around $12,300 a year on food and non-alcoholic drinks, however that’s getting easier and easier with more restaurants happy to deliver to your front door.’
Ms Hassan warned the Australian addiction to food deliveries is putting a strain on the country’s collective pocket.
‘While it may be tempting to regularly order from a food delivery service, remember you’re paying for the convenience,’ she told NT News.
‘When ordering through the app, keep a close eye on the breakdown of the transaction so you know exactly what you’re paying for. Treat food delivery as a luxury, and not a habit.’
Finder.com.au money expert Bessie Hassan said 68 million online food orders are processed in the country every year, adding up to 7000 every hour (Menulog pictured)
Food delivery apps such as Deliveroo and UberEATS charge a $5 delivery fee and also take a cut from the cafe or restaurant customers order from.
The bottom line after paying the service fee for food outlets can be so thin that some cafes have even refused to keep delivering with UberEATS.
Petty Cash cafe in Marrickville, Sydney, told its customers it has cut ties with the delivery platform after making virtually zero profit on orders.
‘Aussies who order through Menulog, UberEats, Deliveroo and Foodora are ordering food delivery almost once a week,’ she said
‘After UberEATS has taken its 35 per cent share, it is virtually impossible for us to make a profit, in fact we basically run at a loss with our Uber sales. In addition to that, the new UberEATS model no longer takes full responsibility of delivery, burdening the supplier with further possible loss,’ the cafe said in a statement.
‘We feel that UberEATS is incredibly exploitative of small business AND drivers.’
The research discovered the average food order was $37.50, with users spending an average $1590 a year on the apps alone.
Sydneysiders were the worst offenders for embracing the convenience of online takeaway, while Melbourne and Perth followed closely behind in second place.