Food delivery players tweak fees as F&B merchants brace for impact of Covid-19 restrictions
FOOD delivery platforms are making temporary changes to their fee structures after Singapore kickstarted stricter Covid-19 measures that are expected to increase the pressure on eateries' bottom lines and hike the demand for delivery options.
Grab on Sunday said it will reduce commissions for eligible merchants. Stall owners operating in hawker centres managed and regulated by the National Environment Agency will have full commission rebate on all orders until June 13, the last day that dining-in is banned.
For non-hawkers that experience an increase in delivery orders during the period, GrabFood will offer a 50 per cent commission rebate on additional orders, as compared to their current level of sales or previous month's sales.
Grab will also fund promotional activities for all merchants, including discounts on self-pickup orders and deliveries at off-peak hours.
foodpanda Singapore's commercial director Amirul Shah said the company will offer free delivery for hawker centre orders with a minimum order value of S$35, until further notice. Users can choose from different stalls in the same hawker centre in a single order.
"We are in the process of finalising details of additional initiatives to help our merchant partners through this period," Mr Shah said.
In anticipation of a spike in demand for delivery, foodpanda is also increasing riders' service fees to incentivise more riders to book delivery shifts.
Heightened concerns among restaurants and eateries over business viability bubbled to the surface after the government tightened safe management measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Sunday said the Food Delivery Booster Package, which will offset part of food delivery costs, has been re-introduced. ESG will fund five percentage points of the commission cost charged by food delivery platforms Deliveroo, Foodpanda and GrabFood.
Other food delivery platforms have also ramped up services in preparation for the surge in demand.
Hawker food delivery provider WhyQ is launching a new free-to-download app for hawkers to set up their own online store, with their own custom link and branding.
"The main selling point of this new app is its ability to assist hawkers in accelerating their digital transformation, enabling them to set up end-to-end digital products in 30 seconds using just their personal mobile phones," said Rishabh Singhvi, co-founder of WhyQ.
The company has also increased the number of delivery couriers and "hawker captains" on its platform. These captains manage the operations at the hawker centre, from labelling to organising of food, before handing over the orders to the couriers. There are now 2,000 couriers and 700 captains with WhyQ.
Oddle, a local startup that operates a consumer platform for food delivery and helps restaurants set up an ordering system, said its logistics partners have increased its driver supply pool over the past few days.
Co-founder Jonathan Lim said the company is working around the clock with its merchants to launch exclusive stay-home promotions.
"Oddle Eats has also worked with industry partners like Mastercard, UOB and Citibank in the past year to co-fund the restaurant's promotions. We will be continuing to look for like-minded partners to grow the restaurant industry."
READ MORE: At a glance: Food delivery fees and support while dining out is banned
