Corona is not that bad for all of us – meal delivery businesses are booming since this spring when quarantine started. This September, if compared with last year’s, saw 125% sales increase for all restaurant meal delivery services put together. Some people who never tried such service before did so this year.

The biggest delivery services are beginning to buy each other and merge to expand not only market reach, but also to diversify their services:

• Just Eat Takeaway is buying Grubhub for $7.3 billion
• Uber Eats wants to acquire Postmates and launch grocery delivery service
• DoorDash is partners with CVS

According to some reports, DooorDash is holding about 49% of US meal delivery sales, Uber Eats is second with 22%, Grubhub takes the third place about 20%, and Postmates is fourth with about 8%. This data is approximate and covers September of this year.

Postmates became public and raised $225 million, but is now talks about getting acquired by Uber. Grubhub and Doordash might cover almost the entire territory of United States, but they have their separate areas of domination – GrubHub is popular in Northeast biggest cities, and DoorDash works overtime in Texas and Bay Area.

As companies are looking for new ways to expand their market share, subscription services seem very attractive. Grubhub is working on a subscription program Grubhub+, Postmates has its Postmates Unlimited, DoorDash – DashPass, and Uber Eats is working on subscription for not only food, but also bikes, scooters, and rides.

Partnerships with restaurants, even fast food chain, is another way to get to the top, so all delivery companies seek as many partnerships as possible. You can now get Little Caesars Pizza, Wendy’s, Chick-Fil-A, and even McDonald’s delivered to your door with DoorDash and Uber Eats. Popeyes, Starbucks, Taco Bell, and many other national chains also have delivery partnerships, but not all of them pay well. Some major chains are paying such low delivery fees that meal delivery companies end up losing money. It can be vice versa too – small restaurants pay so much in fees that don’t make any money themselves.

Some restaurants are very happy with delivery service though - Cheesecake Factory, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chipotle credit DoorDash for significant increase in sales during the pandemic.

Unfortunately for meal delivery companies, today’s customers are not very loyal and frequently use more than one company, depending on restaurant choices and discounts offered. Only about 50% of DoorDash and Uber Eats customers are exclusive and just 36% for Postmates. Not being loyal works for customers as they can choose more restaurants and take advantage of more promotional prices.

In an effort to differentiate between so many similar meal delivery services, let’s take a quick look at their similarities and differences:

Grubhub

Some facts:

• 15 years in business
• Partners with about 300,000 restaurants
• Services 3,200 cities
• $7 delivery fee
• Unlimited delivery and 10% cash back with Grubhub+ membership

The company is known for offering deals and for easiness of research on their app, complete with various filters. Due to corona pandemic, the company now has Grubhub Community Relief Fund, where you can leave your change for local charitable organizations benefitting drivers and restaurants.

DoorDash

• In business for 7 years
• Partners with 300,000 restaurants
• Services 4,000 cities
• Delivery fee is $1.99-$8
• DashPass offers unlimited delivery

DoorDash is very similar to Grubhub, especially when it comes to discounts and deals for first time customers. The app is easy to use and there are filters available for your convenience.

During COVID-19 DoorDash supports local communities and restaurants with marketing packages and food delivery to heavily hit regions.

Postmates

• In business for 9 years
• 600,000 business partners
• 4,200 cities
• Delivers not only food, but everything else
• Delivery fee varies based on time of the day, but can be $0.99-$3.99 and $5.99-$9.99
• Postmates Unlimited offers free deliveries on $12+

Their app is very simple - you can choose delivery, pick-up, or party (trending restaurants). There are also various food categories. Postmates is donating money to World Central Kitchen to support COVID-19 affected people and restaurants by temporarily waving commission fees. They also help with medical expanses of their drivers.

Uber Eats

• 6 years in business
• 320,000 restaurants
• 500 cities globally
• Delivery fees are $0-$5.49
• Unlimited delivery and 5% back on $15 orders with Eats Pass

The company is young, but known as the cheapest. They offer 40% off for the first 4 deliveries – nobody else does that. The app is easy to use and offers ways to find what you want very fast.

Uber Eats takes pandemic seriously and temporarily doesn’t charge delivery fees for over 100,000 restaurant partners and has free rides and meals for healthcare workers. The company also offers financial assistance to their drivers.

In conclusion, all of them are convenient, but you will pay for that conveninece. Studies show that consumers pay up to 42% more for third party food deliveries than they would pay for pick-ups or dining in. Grubhub and DoorDash are the oldest and most popular, but Uber Eats is catching up to them with its affordability and rapid expansion. Postmates offers better variety than anybody and can bring you not only a meal, but a wedding dress as well, literally.