Rider (food delivery)

---

A rider is a person who gathers meals from different restaurants and fast foods, bringing them home to the people who have ordered them. The noun rider comes from the verb to ride, having the meaning of “a person who travels along on a horse or bicycle”.... . Notwithstanding this main meaning, during the last years, starting from the second decade of the XXI° century, a new acceptation has been added to this meaning, that is the one of ‘food deliverer’.

Rider

History and Current Situation

History

Dabbawala Lunch Box

Even though this acceptation is quite recent, the history of riders itself dates back to the XVIII century, precisely in​ ​Korea​ in 1786, where, during the Late ​Joseon​ period, naengmyeon - a noodle dish – was delivered for the first time. The mathematician Hwang Yun Seok (1729 – 1791), in his book ​Han’guk kwahaksa hakhojei,​ affirms to have ordered it after a lesson he had taught . The second confirmed case of food delivery took place in ​Naples​, ​Italy​, in 1889, when ​Umberto I of Italy​ and the queen​ ​Margherita of Savoy commanded a pizza to the chef Raffaele Esposito, who therefore became the first food deliverer of whom the name is known . At the same time (1890), in ​Mumbai​,​ ​India​, a food delivery system that nowadays continues to be active was starting, namely the one of ​Dabbawala

.​ A parsis banker had his lunch delivered by Madhu Havji Bacche, a ​Coolie​ that was waiting for his day-job in the corners of the streets. Likewise, other coolies started to perform this task. Bacche’s forward-looking idea was to set up a homogeneous group of workers, because he soon realized the possibility to boost this service: he selected people native of​ Pune​, in the region of ​Maharastra​, and then grouped them into the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Charity Trust, an association that these days continues to operate, counting about 5000 members. During the ​Second World War​ England itself arranged a food delivery system. The Public Health Reports states that the Queen herself –​ Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon​, mother of ​Queen Elizabeth II​ – inaugurated the Queen’s Emissary Convoy (or Food Flying Squad) during the worst raids in 1941. Their function was to bring immediate relief after serious air attacks, by providing light, hot meals. They supplied between 6000 and 8000 light meals of soup or tea and sandwiches at one operation: their food capacity allowed them to operate for about two days. They also carried infant food and feeding bottles. Queen’s Emissary Convoy’s early arrival after a raid helped to keep up people’s morale, showing that concrete actions were actually taken. After the ​Second World War​, different countries, along the same lines of the ​United Kingdom​, adopted a national food delivery system to help people who could not afford its own meal, namely the ​Meals on Wheels​. The effects of the​ Second World War​, the spread of the so-called ​‘tertiary goods’, the comforts of the leisure culture affected the Americans’ relationship with food. Money were spent in second cars, suburban houses and televisions by middle-class. As families increasingly spent their time watching the television at home, restaurants rapidly saw their profits plummet down. Thus they started to look at the ​‘take home trade’​ (THT) as a solution to this problem, by beginning to advertise their menus made for taking home. Eateries who offered this take-home service showed sales’ increases of 20 to 50 percent in a single year. By the end of the ​1950s​ most of the restaurants’ menu contained reminders that any item could be ordered to take out: eventually food at home was affordable from anyone, not just rich people. The most delivered item was pizza. Again, that is a consequence of the ​Second World War​. Indeed, American soldiers who came back from the War in Europe developed a special taste for Italian food and stormed to dine in the Italian restaurants, existing in the US since the Italian immigration wave of the ​1920s​. Civilians were intrigued by pizza, and soon its taste won over the palate of the American middle-class . The very game-changer of food delivery, hence of riders, was the Internet, that soon brought to life several online food delivery companies. In 1989 ​Peapod​, an online grocery delivery company, was launched: it is the first online delivery company ever. In the years that followed, due to the dot-com bubble​, many companies appeared (​Waiter.Com​, ​Webvan​, ​HomeGrocer​, ​Kozmo.com​, etcetera), but most of these were shut down because of the dot-com crash (2000-2002). Starting from 2010, internet development, smartphones’ penetration, ​sharing economy​ and creation of startups – all these factors contributed to awake online food delivery again and to widely spread it all over the world, re-shaping the way people approach to food and giving birth to the so-called riders.

Current Situation

Nowadays, online and food delivery companies constitute a large portion of gig economy. Worldwide, the revenues in the online food delivery segment amount to $122.739 million, and this number is expected to show an annual growth rate of 7.5% until 2024. In the US market, revenues amount to $23.991 million, and the annual growth rate is expected to be 5.1% until 2024. In 2019, startups and online platforms revenues – Platforms-to-Consumer delivery – overcame restaurants revenues – Restaurants-to-Consumer delivery. The gap between the two of them is forecasted to become wider in the following years . Currently, the top ten main online food delivery companies (​Deliveroo​, ​Just Eat​, GrubHub​, ​Uber Eats, ​DoorDash​, ​Postmates​, ​Olo​, Snapfinger, ​delivery.com​ and Meituan-Dianping​) employ about 100.000 riders to provide their services.

Economic Aspects

Food Delivery in Two-Sided Markets

The​ ​food delivery ​sector operates in a market called​ two-sided market​ ​or multi-sided market. ​Two-sided markets​ are markets where intermediate ​economic platforms enable and facilitate transactions between different groups of users . The ​food delivery​ market has been undergoing a rapid growth, since it is advantageous for all sides, restaurants, consumers as well as for the platform itself . The markets that arise from two-sided platforms generate value due to two effects. Firstly, direct ​network effects​ that occur during the interaction of members in the same group. Secondly, referring to the case of ​food delivery​, indirect ​network effects ​which are due to the interaction between different groups . Here, the food service sector and the final consumer are brought together.

Food Delivery in the Gig Economy

The economy ​food delivery​ ​platforms ​operate in is denominated “gig economy”. In the gig economy, platforms are regarded as distinctive and digitally-based points of production that enable the transformation of social relations into relations of production . Food delivery apps are service work apps, where gig workers​ ​do not carry out their tasks digitally. Therefore the​ platform​ can be considered as a pole where the labor process takes place . By logging in to the application, riders show their availability to undertake gigs. When the​ gig worker logs in to the application, an external authority translates customer’s demand into orders that have to be executed. These orders are sent out in the form of notifications. Additionally, this authority establishes what task, the whereabouts and the time frame in which it has to be carried out. The amount of money earned by the gig worker is also determined by the external authority. The work, the performance and the execution of the task are monitored in a direct and indirect way . In some cases a gig is carried out at the same time that it is received, just as it happens in ​food delivery​. As in other cases it can be executed at a later time. Furthermore, the platform determines the pay and the value of each gig, basing itself on an algorithm. Platforms in the gig economy gain profit solely by charging a fee for intermediation based on the value of the gig .

Working Conditions

Work Contract Conditions

Most food delivery companies do not hire riders as subordinate workers but contract them as ​self-employed. Indeed, riders are generally free to accept or refuse a delivery: the former entails getting paid, the latter entails the opposite. The possibility of refusing work is the characterizing element that distinguishes the work of riders from subordinate work and which would therefore justify the self-employment contract. Working conditions vary from country to country. That is mainly because in each country there are different food delivery players and also different types of trade unions. However, being hired as a self-employed person deprives riders of many typical subordinate rights. In particular, riders are not entitled to:

• the minimum wage provided for collective labour agreements;
• holidays and paid leave;
• thirteenth​ salary and fourteenth salary;
• social security​ and welfare contributions;
• protection in case of accident and occupational disease;
• protection against unlawful dismissal;
• unemployment benefit​ in the event of job loss;
• protection in case of illness;

Under payment, precariat and absence of unionization, are currently the mainstream characteristics of these companies..

Strikes

Strikes are caused by unpaid or diminishing wages. Riders have little to no legal right to demand higher compensation. With lower pay per order, the riders have to work longer hours to make ends meet.

Two cases:

Deliveroo Rider

Deliveroo in the UK

From August to September 2019, Deliveroo riders across the ​UK​ staged protests against changes in Deliveroo's pay structure, following a reduction in the minimum payment riders receive per delivery. They were are also demanding for improved working conditions, including greater security against abuse and guaranteed holiday and sick pay .

Foodora in Italy

On October 8th 2016​, the first strike of gig workers took place in Turin, Italy. Around 50 riders blocked the service for the whole Saturday, biking through the city distributing leaflets in the restaurants affiliated to Foodora. The company was offering such low salaries because the ​Jobs Act​ and the previous reforms had deregulated the Italian job market and had removed general protection for workers.

Food Consumer in the Gig Economy

Consumer behavior

Due to the change in consumer attitude, the ​food industry​ is no longer producing just basic and essential products, but it is offering new attractive goods. Therefore, it is important for a business to determine the main factors that influence consumer demand, motivations and preferences in order to identify their buying behaviour and to be successful in the food market ​ The modern eating culture and consumer choices reflect these changes: products are distinct, characterized by different attributes in order to satisfy different customers and their needs. The demand for “​convenience food​” is increasing because of several factors like the growth in number of single-person households, ageing population, changes in roles within families, female participation in the labour market, longer working hours, increasing interest in healthy eating, a decline in cooking skills, a reduction in traditional mealtimes and the desire to spend less time and effort on food-related activities ​

Digital technologies and the online delivery

There is a great debate over the way ​digital technologies​ are reshaping the relationship between consumers and brands and the impact of smartphones and the Web mobile​ on customer decision. Indeed, by taking advantage of big data and advanced analytics, companies have an enormous potential to improve customers' decisions and to implement ​circular economy​ solutions in the food chain ​ As the production has changed, the delivery of food has completely transformed. The growth in new ​online food ordering​ is driven by two sources of consumer demand. The first acts as a substitution for dining in a restaurant. With new delivery, consumers can dine at home with the same quality food they would enjoy at a fine restaurant. Some platforms even include Michelin-starred establishments in their offerings in selected cities. The second source of demand is a substitution for meals prepared and consumed at home ​. In addition, there are important features of the new online food-delivery platforms:

• Platforms are sticky. New delivery platforms personalize the ordering experience by storing relevant customer data, creating a strong connection with the customer, who never or rarely leaves for another platform.
• Speed of delivery. It is the biggest variable in customer satisfaction, the optimal wait time is no more than 60 minutes.
• The place. Most orders are placed from home, the others are from the workplace.
• The weekend. The highest volume days for the online platform are Friday, Saturday and Sunday ​.

Flexibility

The ability of a company to make a profit and to survive in a competitive​ ​marketplace depends not only on its financial capabilities but also on understanding customers and the market. The primary strategic aspect and the key of success of contemporary leader companies is ability to be flexible in the market and in the ​food industry​ ​.

See also

• Food delivery
• Food industry
• Online food ordering
• Platform
• Circular Economy
• Two-sided market
• Deliveroo
• Foodora
• Just Eat

References

This article "Rider (food delivery)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Rider (food delivery). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---