These delivery companies have become a far bigger "Evil" than Amazon or any other megatech company people often like to criticize. Because they provide nearly no benefit to anyone on any side of the marketplace and increasingly offer horrible customer service.
But as I write this on the deck of a lake cabin I rented in New Hampshire, I'm reminded how different the world is outside of big cities like my home in NYC. There is one place on Doordash up here.
VC funding subsidizing the entry of these firms into the market. Few competitors contributing to pricing power among these firms. Network effects arising from coordinating the multi-sided market of drivers, restaurants, and consumers.
Early subsidization has led to the position of these firms as middlemen that can extract something akin to rent from their dominant market position. The vig that middlemen collect isn’t a benefit to consumers but something they pay for with every transaction (price mark ups, service fees, narrowed choices).
No, profit isn’t a sign of consumer benefit. Often it’s quite the opposite actually.
But as I write this on the deck of a lake cabin I rented in New Hampshire, I'm reminded how different the world is outside of big cities like my home in NYC. There is one place on Doordash up here.