SINGAPORE: While delivery riders expressed concerns about a potential monopoly, food and beverage businesses were largely unconcerned about news that Deliveroo will exit Singapore’s market.
F&B outlets said orders from the food delivery platform were negligible, adding that they would turn to the remaining two competitors, Grab and Foodpanda, to fulfil online orders instead.
It was mostly the same story for riders, many of whom had already turned to other platforms due to declining orders from Deliveroo.
The company announced on Wednesday (Feb 25) that its last day of service would be on Mar 4, and that it would begin “an orderly wind-down process”.
Delivery rider Alvin Lim expressed surprise at the latest development, given the recent acquisition by DoorDash.
Mr Lim, 34, said he actively used Deliveroo even though it had the lowest number of orders among the three platforms. The platform accounts for only 10 per cent of his earnings, but offered the most flexibility as riders could choose to accept or decline orders without facing penalties, he said.
“This flexibility is a major advantage, but I believe it also comes with drawbacks. Orders that are further away are often rejected by riders, which forces Deliveroo to increase the payout to attract someone to take them.
“Additionally, when riders are unwilling to accept certain orders, Deliveroo may need to compensate customers for late deliveries.”
Other riders, such as Mr Pham Quoc Tin, 38, were unsurprised by the move.
Mr Tin, who was wearing a Deliveroo jacket when he spoke to CNA, said he had decided to help the platform with deliveries on Wednesday upon hearing of its impending closure.
