Food Delivery Can Cost Almost Twice Of Dabao Prices, Consider Takeaway To Save Money

S’porean Shows Price Difference Between Delivery & Takeaway From Restaurant

Update (24 May): A Grab spokesperson told us that all prices seen on the platform are set by the merchant, and merchants are encouraged to “keep (the prices) the same as or as close to their outlet prices for… customers”.

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During the ‘Circuit Breaker’ period, we can’t dine-in outside, and we’re also told to minimise going out unless absolutely necessary, so delivery orders have increased.

However, the premium we pay for delivery can be much higher than we think, as a Singaporean found out.

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The difference between a takeaway order at a Thai restaurant and one made on GrabFood is seen in the accompanying picture.

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A check on other food delivery platforms like Foodpanda and Deliveroo revealed varying degrees of increased prices on food items, so this appears consistent across the board for delivery apps.

Deliveries usually cost more than takeaway

Even before the CB period hit, delivery charges appeared to be higher than takeaway.

But according to the netizen, the price difference has only been increasing during the CB period.

For example, the difference between ordering a green curry chicken at the restaurant ($8) and ordering it through the app ($12.90) is quite significant.

Image for illustrative purposes
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This is even before the service fees and other charges. You won’t be able to tell the difference unless you can find a menu from an alternative source.

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The netizen compares both price lists which state similar items, but have $35.60 listed as the takeaway price, and $60.70 listed as the delivery price.

A Grab spokesperson told MS News that the prices seen on the platform are set by the merchant, and they’re encouraged to keep them at either the same or as close to the outlet prices as possible.

Paying for convenience

We may or may not be familiar with how delivery platforms take 30% commission from hawkers. Have a read about it here if you didn’t know that.

Grab Breaks Down Earnings Split In Cute Pizza Graphic, Merchants Get At Least 70% Of Order Value

These additional costs go into paying the various people involved in the delivery process, like delivery riders.

Some hawkers may not have their own manpower to handle deliveries, so by paying the platforms, they may reach a wider clientele.

Of course, this may mean that the customer has to bear some additional costs for convenience.

Choice is available to order food or not

For those who may wish to stretch their dollar during these tough times, this is further proof that dabao-ing your food, or even cooking, is less painful on the wallet.

But as the netizen reminds us in her post, this is a choice everyone should make on their own.

If you’re stuck working on an urgent project or have to take care of kids, for example, then delivery may be a better option.

It’s good that we have the choice to either dabao or have most of our food delivered to us here, because that choice may not be present elsewhere.

We can dabao responsibly too, by practicing safe distancing when ordering, and taking appropriate anti-Covid-19 measures.

Featured image adapted from Facebook & MyReadingRoom.