MONEY MATTERS
Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat double yearly commission revenue from UK restaurants By: Fionn Hart, UK Country Manager, Flipdish
J
ustEat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats are behemoth brands
long term, but investing in the right tech partnerships now is
and household staples across the UK. Big tech now
critical for this to succeed.
dominates a market that has exploded in recent times,
Investment in new technologies
reaching a valuation of £11.4 billion in 2020 – double the figure
One in five restaurants are planning to invest in new
reported in 2015.
technologies this year.
Although largely accelerated by the pandemic, this taste for
While takeaway will continue to be an important component
takeaways has been habitual amongst Brits for decades, with
of the restaurant revenue make-up moving forward, the in-
the foodservice delivery market expected to sustain robust
store experience will be key to steadying the ship and drive a
growth and reach a valuation of £12.6 billion by 2024.
strong recovery through 2022.
For these companies at the top of this food chain, the rewards
However, the UK restaurant industry is currently suffering a
are immense. According to international restaurant and
severe staff shortage, with COVID-19 having poured gasoline
delivery analyst Peter Backman, the combined revenue of
on a growing problem that had been swelling for many years.
these three aggregator platforms rose to £2.5 billion a year
While foodservice businesses are eager to capitalise on a rise
in 2021 – up from an estimated £1 billion a year pre-pandemic.
in customer demand, their ability to do so is being hampered
However, there is a less pleasant side to these figures that is
by a lack of staff, resulting in unwanted periods of closure and
not spoken about enough.
reduced output.
For restaurants, the domination of the three biggest
Take self-service kiosks and table service apps, for example.
marketplace players has backed them into a tight corner.
These technologies can address this issue and make the most
Opting to go through aggregators to help with the pivot
of revenue opportunities, not just in the face of imminent
to delivery-only in the peak of the pandemic, their profit
labour shortages but for many years to come.
margins become slashed dramatically owing to the enormous
The customer appetite is also there, with 57% of customers
commissions that are imposed, usually around the 30% mark.
willing to leave pubs and bars if queues are more than five
It is a situation that has left many such businesses stuck
people long. It isn’t surprising then, that from the same
between a rock and a hard place during what has already
Flipdish study, more than 80% enjoy having the option of
proved to be one of the most challenging periods in the history
ordering their food and drinks using their phones as opposed
of the industry. Things got so bad at the end of 2021 where a
to queuing at a counter altogether.
Flipdish survey of 200 restaurant owners in the UK revealed
Customer service is said to be king. By providing customers
that the average outlet only had enough cash to survive for
with the freedom to order via QR codes or digital ordering
10 weeks, should there have been another COVID-19 lockdown
kiosks, you are offering a wider choice that will better suit
in early 2022.
the preferences of different people. Further, it will also reduce
Such enterprises have been pushed to the brink, with 40%
the strain on staff whilst drastically reducing queue sizes to
in the same study stating that they feel it will take anywhere
quicken service for customers, freeing staff to focus on the
between two and 10 years to fully financially recover from the
hospitality itself.
pandemic.
QR Code ordering is not just standalone technology that
When asked, nearly a third (30%) of owners felt angry that
benefits the staff working on the ground; it also encourages
aggregators were taking so much commission and hitting
innovation across the board. By removing the barriers of
a sector already on its knees. Today, however, many are
traditional print menus, restaurant owners are encouraged to
beginning to mount a fight back. Flipdish data shows that
constantly revamp their offering, trial promotions, and alter
roughly three in five have ditched an aggregator platform
prices.
since the pandemic first started, while 21% listed breaking
As restaurant owners begin to make their move away from
away from Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats as a top priority for
aggregators, they’ll need to turn their attention to how they
2022.
maintain a seamless and integrated customer experience. It’s
Despite this, many restaurants are concerned about a drop
all about implementing the right technology at the right time
in order volumes if they leave the aggregators. The reality
to ensure restaurant owners feel they can step away from the
is, however, that by focusing on direct-to-consumer orders,
the big three, and not sacrifice on customer satisfaction or
they will have more control and a better balance sheet in the
profits in the process.
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Fastfood Professional • April and May 2022
April and May 2022 • Fastfood Professional
48
