Data from a report by the State Information Center shows that in 2021, China's online takeout revenue accounted for 21.4% of the total revenue of the catering industry. Among them, the transaction value of a takeaway platform was 702.1 billion yuan, and the volume of takeaway transactions reached 14.4 billion pens. In addition to first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, the takeaway industry is gradually sinking into third- and fourth-tier cities, and not only do young groups order takeaways, but middle-aged and old-aged groups are also beginning to gradually adapt to this lifestyle. Especially in the epidemic control situation, people choose to take out more instead of dine-in, and there was once a takeaway boy "demand exceeds supply" situation.
However, the reporter found that there are still some merchants do not want to station in the takeaway platform, some try to platform takeaway and then choose to quit. The reason for this is that the platform commission is too high, the distribution process is too many uncontrollable factors, the need for a large amount of money to maintain the main reason why merchants are discouraged.
At the same time, new delivery modes are emerging, and more and more merchants are improving their reputation by upgrading the quality of their food and choosing other delivery methods to get more long-term benefits.
High commissions discourage merchants
Qingdao City, Shandong Province, Mr. Wang is a barbecue store owner, he operates a store monthly turnover has remained at about 250,000 yuan, the shopkeeper has repeatedly proposed on-line takeaway platforms, have not been adopted. "On-line platforms have to pay 20% commission, more orders also need to increase manpower, the calculation is not cost-effective." Mr. Wang said some merchants have such concerns.
It is understood that the takeaway platform for large restaurant chains to implement 15% to 18% commission, small restaurant enterprises 18% to 23%. That is to say, a 100 yuan order, the takeaway platform will charge 15 to 23 yuan, the restaurant can only get about 80 yuan.
The head of a restaurant group in Qingdao City said that the pure profit of the restaurant industry is 20% to 30%, and the merchants pay the rider delivery fee by themselves, then pay the platform commission, and the actual revenue may only be about 10%. "Very often merchants are through the volume of profits, once the order volume is insufficient is very likely to lose money." The person in charge of the introduction, some merchants specializing in takeout in the face of the platform's commission and operating costs, will choose to reduce the cost of ingredients to increase profits.
Mr. Wang told reporters that not only do they have to pay commissions after joining the takeout platform, but they also need to pay operating fees in order to increase sales and make their stores visible to more people. "Some merchants will choose to prioritize the production of takeaway orders, extending the waiting time of dine-in customers, and the evaluation of the store offline will also be lower. Instead of that, it's better to concentrate on offline."
In addition to high commissions, uncontrollable factors in the delivery process are also an important reason why merchants are reluctant to join takeaway platforms. Qingdao City, a Cantonese restaurant has just been stationed on the platform, because of the lack of experience, after the customer orders the hotel immediately began to make, but because of the bad weather, no rider in time to take the order. "In the end, the meal was cold, and the takeout was still in the store." Mr. Shen, the person in charge, said helplessly, takeaway riders delivery delays, spilled soup and other bad reviews will directly affect the store's reputation, so some merchants who want to do quality business refused to join the platform.
"The harsh management mechanism of takeout platforms and the lack of back-end services have caused inconvenience to some merchants." Qingdao, a Japanese restaurant owner told reporters that after the outbreak, the takeaway platform for online merchants very strict audit, if there is no network operating license, you must sign an exclusive agreement with the platform. Not only that, the platform side of the problem solving efficiency is also very low, some operational problems often need 2~3 days to reply.
Some merchants choose other delivery methods
It is understood that the takeaway commission is mainly composed of three parts: platform royalties, technical service fees and delivery service fees. The platform usage fee is similar to the cost of offline ground rent, and the takeaway platform invests a lot of money every year to increase technical research and development to ensure the smooth operation of merchants and customer transactions. Relevant data show that a takeaway platform spent 7.07 billion yuan on research and development in 2018, nearly doubling the 3.65 billion yuan spent in 2017.
After the 2020 epidemic, some platforms have implemented a phased commission waiver policy for all in-store catering cooperative merchants and life service merchants across the country; other platforms provide merchants with commission reductions, annual fee extensions and other services.
In the face of such initiatives, many merchants believe that it is a drop in the bucket, in order to reduce the passive, to ensure the quality of delivery, many merchants "avoid" the takeaway platform, choose other delivery methods.
The reporter found that some merchants choose to go online platform, but they complete the distribution link, commission of 3% to 10%, can increase the profit of at least 10% per month; there are many merchants choose to hire full-time takeaway employees, monthly salary of 4,000 yuan plus commission