By Naadiya Adams

Food delivery services offer the convenience of having your meal brought to your doorstep but with it a hefty price tag. Mr D. and UberEats have dominated the South African food delivery industry for years however consumers may have never realised that menu items on these platforms are priced a lot higher than if you dealt directly with the restaurant.

Delivery fees are not the only costs involved in having your food delivered and a closer look reveals that menus on Mr.D and Uber are priced at least 30% higher than on the actual menu or restaurant website.

Reason being these platforms may charge you a delivery fee, but they’re also charging the restaurant a huge commission on every order for making use of their app. The thinking is that the app provides a channel from which the restaurant can generate another stream of revenue. Charges could be anything from 20% or more, and as its a matter of survival for many small businesses, consumers bear the burden of paying a portion of that commission when they order – which makes ordering in a lot more expensive.

During a time, where every industry in the country has suffered a loss, restaurants simply cannot afford to fit a 30% commission on every order and are a forced to pass the buck over to consumers.

While many food establishments are equipping themselves to do in-house delivery, it makes sense to outsource the delivery service – even if it comes at a price- as having in-house bikes and drivers presents itself to a range of other issues such as bike maintenance, fuel costs, bike licences, licenced responsible drivers and the ever present threat of an accident while on a delivery.

McDonalds South Africa rolled out McDelivery in 2013, but have since done away with the delivery service and now have a dedicated company named Scoot- seemingly outsourced- to do deliveries for them exclusively.

Here’s how prices compare on the apps as opposed to the actual prices: