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Tag: deliveroo

  • Deliveroo launches ‘Shopping’ in Ireland – retail deliveries now live, from beauty to tech in 20 minutes 

    Deliveroo launches ‘Shopping’ in Ireland – retail deliveries now live, from beauty to tech in 20 minutes 

    Deliveroo, the worldwide food delivery service has expanded its horizons by issuing a ‘on-demand’ shopping service alongside its food delivery to four Irish cities starting on the 6th of October. 

    Now live in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, the service will allow app users to shop beauty lines, tech and DIY, florists and gift stores alongside a fast delivery guarantee.  

    Having first launched its expansion in the UK in 2023, Deliveroo has noted a growing in service to a vast array of renowned brands. According to Deliveroo, this service will tap into a significant shift in Irish consumer behaviour.  

    Bicycle food delivery couriers wait for their mobile app orders in Dublin, Ireland – photo by tupungato via depositphotos. 

    Recent market analysis shows that demand for rapid delivery services has surged, with over 70% of online shoppers in Ireland now considering convenience as a key factor in their purchasing decisions and 29% Irish consumers have increased their frequency of online shopping. 

    Speaking about the launch, Helen Maher, Regional Director of Deliveroo Ireland, said: “Our mission is to bring the local community to your doorstep, and this is a significant step forward to achieving that.” 

    “It’s not just about convenience for our customers; it’s about creating a new and vital opportunity for Irish retailers. We directly support physical shops, providing a digital extension to the traditional storefront and generating a new revenue stream that goes straight back into stores,” added Maher.  

    The first partners to launch are The Perfume Shop and Accessorize, alongside more than 20 local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), providing a new level of choice and convenience. Over the coming weeks Deliveroo is set to partner with more exciting brands, as it looks to build its selection. 

    Gill Smith, Managing Director at The Perfume Shop, commented: “Our existing partnership with Deliveroo in the UK has proven hugely successful, so we are excited to expand into Ireland.” 

    “The partnership offers our customers a new level of speed and convenience while reaching a much wider audience. We’re thrilled to be among the first retailers in Ireland to offer on-demand delivery and look forward to serving consumers in this innovative new way,” added Smith. 

    Also expressing her excitement, Madeleine McCleod, Head of Marketing at Accessorize said “We are extremely excited to be launching with Deliveroo in Ireland, offering customers the opportunity to shop our products with delivery to their door in under 25 minutes.” 

    “Between office parties, last-minute gifting, and braving the winter weather, it’s not always easy to find time to shop but our collaboration with Deliveroo makes life much easier for our customers.” 

    Deliveroo cargo box near a parked bicycle – photo by ifeelstock via depositphotos 

    Curious about the possible additional workload for Deliveroo employees, TheCity spoke to Gabriel, a Brazilian Deliveroo rider who has worked for Deliveroo for a number of months. 

    “I think it is a great addition. It’s something that has become so normal elsewhere, so I think it’s about time Dublin got something like this. It creates more jobs for people like me, so more money is something I won’t turn down!” Gabriel said with a smile.  

    This retail expansion builds on Deliveroo’s established and successful grocery delivery service in Ireland, which already includes major partners like Tesco Whoosh, M&S Ireland, and SPAR. 

    For customers, ordering is simple. Users can open the Deliveroo app, navigate to the ‘Shopping’ category, and browse items from retailers in their local area. Once an order is placed, they can track its progress in real-time as a Deliveroo rider delivers it directly to their door. 

    Deliveroo plans to rapidly expand the service in the coming months, adding more partners and rolling out to new locations across the country.  

    If you are a business owner and are looking for a good opportunity to expand your clientele, retailers can sign up to be a part of this movement directly from the Deliveroo website. 

  • Eating out(side)

    Eating out(side)

    Our takeaway habits have transformed in the past year, becoming one of the only simple pleasures we have to get out and about.

    With the current lockdown dragging on since late December, indoor dining remains on hold, ushering in a revised-look takeaway and outdoor dining culture as we bid to fill our social void and allow some businesses to stay open to a degree.

    “It’s good to get out of the house, you can’t be cooped up in there or you’ll go mad” – Anne (last name unknown). Tang Cafe on Dawson Street. Photo by James Molloy
    Waiting patiently for their orders. It has become a common sight seeing groups congregating outside their favourite eateries throughout the city. Photo by James Molloy

    Getting a takeaway coffee used to be something we took for granted – a ‘grab it and go’ type of affair. Now, however, the run-of-the-mill takeaway coffee has been transformed into a means of getting out of the house; offering a chance to savour your time outside – almost becoming a symbol of freedom in our restricted reality.

    We were used to going into a place, sitting down at a table, reading a menu and being served our food or drink; taking our time. Queuing, finding a suitably socially-distant location and the weather have now taken over, as we move from the indoor dining experience to the great outdoors.

    Battle of the coffee shops – advertising is the name of the game. Coffeeshops and restaurants across the city are competing and operating at a restricted level, resulting in more advertisement boards cropping up to showcasing their products to prospective punters. Photo by James Molloy
    The city has evolved into our new dining room. Benches, steps, fountains – if you can sit there then you can eat there. St.Stephens Green. Photo by James Molloy
    Food Trucks are capitalising on the need for outdoor dining. The Sambo Ambo is dishing out lifesaving sandwiches and coffee. The Sambo Ambo, Iveagh Markets, St.Francis Street. Photo by James Molloy

    That being said, meeting with a friend for a socially distant bite to eat and a coffee in the park has become so important in recent times for the sake of our sanity – it gives us a chance to leave the confines of our homes and interact with someone other than our family members.

    Benches have become the new table. Sit, relax and take in the sights. St.Patricks Cathedral. Photo by James Molloy

    Delivery riders and drivers have seen business boom during the pandemic, so much so that you can’t go five minutes without seeing a delivery rider zipping past on their bicycle. People can’t go to their favourite restaurants so they use convenient delivery apps such as Deliveroo or Just-Eat to bring their best-loved dishes to them.

    Not all heroes wear capes, nowadays they wear thermal bags. Deliveroo riders have been on the go non-stop to bring you what you crave. Photo by James Molloy
    Pubs are opening across the city offering takeaway drinks, in a bid to raise some much needed funds as the hospitality industry is on its knees. Photo by James Molloy

    Takeaway offerings don’t only offer a respite from lockdown. They also help to keep cafes, pubs, and restaurants afloat, allowing them to earn some much needed capital and to keep customers happy during these testing times.

    “I wish the pubs were back” – Maeve McEnroe. South William Street. Photo by James Molloy
    The humble pint ─ no longer cradled in a glass, now it finds itself in a flimsy plastic vessel. But it’s better than no pint. Photo by James Molloy
  • Deliveroo cyclists want priority for pedals

    Deliveroo cyclists want priority for pedals

    Deliveroo cyclists have been left scrambling for hours as motor delivery drivers get first priority. Rebecca Daly explores the impact of Deliveroo’s technology on their riders.

    Photo taken by Jon Crel. Sourced from Flickr.

    Food delivery service Deliveroo was launched in 2013 and now operates in 13 countries around the world. They work with over 35,000 restaurants and have more than 30,000 riders who make the service come together. 

    The company is technology-centred in the sense that their business is based on the use of smartphones to place orders and to allow their riders to be offered them. 

    To make this all possible, Deliveroo uses an algorithm named “Frank” after a character on American TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Launched in 2017, it allowed order times to be reduced significantly – by 20% to be exact. 

    On the company’s website under a section named “Driven by technology,” they detail how this new technology meant that “riders are able to complete more deliveries per hour and increase their earnings, restaurants are able to increase their sales, and – of course – customers get their food even faster”. 

    However, to what extent does this digital technology actually impact its riders? 

    George, who did not want to reveal his real name, is originally from Brazil, but has been living in Inchicore, Dublin, for three years. He’s been a Deliveroo rider for two and a half years. 

    For him, Deliveroo is the ideal job occupation. He said, “We are our own bosses and we work as many hours as we want.”

    In 2019, a change came to the app which meant that the priority of drivers had shifted slightly, but with huge consequences. Deliveroo wrote to its riders by email saying, “You may have noticed that your self-service booking statistics now include a small priority for motorised vehicles.” 

    The change in priority was brought in to support long-distance deliveries but affected the business of cyclists delivering for the company. However, George says that cyclists are actually the ones left with longer deliveries of 5 or 6 kilometres, rather than the cars or motorcyclists. 

    Bicycle deliveries are excluded from the 11 am working time-slot and pushed to 3 pm or even 5 pm. This means that there are fewer hours left to choose from. 

    Full-time delivery drivers like George have certainly “felt this problem of having few orders”. At the weekend, they get more orders because the app itself is busier, but this does not translate into weekdays. 

    For example, George could get three or four orders done per hour on a busy day. On quieter days, this number drops to two per hour.

    “We are making less and less orders on the bike because of this scheme. [Deliveroo] keep opening accounts and more accounts. They no longer have many orders for us on bikes,” he said. 

    So, while “Frank” aims to optimise the number of deliveries for its riders, the app’s priority scheme seems to do the exact opposite for those who operate on bicycles – the original method of food delivery for the company. 

    Instead of all of its delivery drivers benefitting from this 20% increase in order times, Deliveroo’s technology has actually hindered their cyclists.

    The previous description of how this algorithm positively impacts riders is somewhat questionable as a result. Not all of their riders are able to complete more deliveries or increase their earnings because of how the app has been designed. 

    *Deliveroo were contacted for comment about this issue but did not reply.