DoorDash Announces New Pricing Tiers for Restaurant Delivery Nationwide | Eater SF

"Announced on April 27, DoorDash is offering restaurants three commission tiers — a 15% “basic,” 25% “plus,” and 30% “premier” plan — presented as a response to restaurant feedback. The 15% level currently matches San Francisco’s pandemic-era delivery cap, but it’s unclear how bare-bones that tier really is or whether restaurants can profitably use it; the city’s temporary cap will remain only 60 days after indoor dining returns to full capacity, so its future is uncertain. Per DoorDash, the basic 15% plan has the highest delivery fees for customers and limits the delivery area; the 25% plus plan reduces customer delivery costs, expands the delivery area, and enrolls restaurants in a loyalty program; and the 30% premier plan offers the lowest customer fees, the largest delivery area, the loyalty program, and a promise to “guarantee growth” of 20 or more orders a month or refund those fees. DoorDash is also lowering app pickup fees to 6% and launching a “storefront” product to process orders on restaurants’ own sites for a processing fee. Local restaurant group leader Laurie Thomas said the tiering is a step in the right direction but warned that a limited delivery radius could force restaurants to opt into higher tiers and that the value depends on whether a restaurant needs DoorDash’s marketing and placement. The announcement also evokes past criticisms of delivery apps during the pandemic — adding restaurants without consent, opposing driver benefits, underpaying hazard pay, and raising delivery fees for customers — and comes after DoorDash’s December IPO that benefited its founders." - Becky Duffett