How Food Delivery Killed Competition (And Took Your Budget With It) | Diving In
6/24/202615 min
Getting food delivered should be simple — but somehow it's gotten outrageously expensive. In this video, Justin Wolfers break down why food delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub make it nearly impossible to compare prices, and why that's no accident. Justin Wolfers spent half an hour pricing the same dinner order across four platforms, and the results will make you rethink every takeout order you've ever placed. This is what happens when bad design is there by design.
This isn't just a story about annoying apps — it's about how markets can fail even when competition exists. When comparing prices is too painful, firms stop competing on price, and you end up paying more than you should. The FTC is starting to take notice, and there are real fixes on the table. But until then, that $28 burrito isn't going anywhere.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Bethany Frankel0:03
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Speaker 41:01
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Justin Wolfers· Host1:10
The fact that I can open up my phone, just push a couple of buttons, and 30 minutes later have restaurant quality food show up on my doorstep, it's pretty incredible. Seriously, the magic of our times. But it's also gotten painfully expensive. That $28 burrito