When it comes to food, Caroline Bauldree does not like to \u201cdeprive\u201d herself of anything. She does not like to cook either, so that means a lot of food deliveries. \u201cIf I want sushi, I\u2019m getting sushi,\u201d said the 24-year-old nanny, who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. \u201cI\u2019m definitely lazy in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bauldree got into the habit of near-daily DoorDashing back in college. \u201cI could order whatever food from whatever restaurant and it showed up at my door \u2013 that\u2019s the dream,\u201d she said. \u201cBut then I just feel like crap about myself because I\u2019m like, \u2018wow, I\u2019m a lazy piece of shit.\u2019 Nine times out of 10, I feel bad about myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a term for that post-order clarity: delivery guilt. The pandemic turned food delivery apps such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub, once only popular in major cities, into a full-fledged national lifestyle. One Purdue study<\/a> found that two-thirds of consumers used a food-ordering app at least once in 2024; another recent survey<\/a> from the marketing company FinanceBuzz in partnership with Bank of America found that 57% of Americans get takeout or delivery weekly or more. Gen Z is more likely to feed the habit, clocking in an average of five orders a month \u2013 roughly double the monthly orders made by Boomers.<\/p>\n double quotation markIt doesn\u2019t feel great to admit that we\u2019re paying this extra money and contributing to these companies\u2019 profitsJoy Lu<\/p>\n Considering the price of food and those ever-pesky delivery fees, it\u2019s an expensive habit; Bauldree estimates spending about $75 a week. And users might not feel comfortable broadcasting it to the world. According to the Finance Buzz survey, half of its gen Z respondents said they felt embarrassed about how much they spend on food delivery, sometimes so much that they lie about the amount to friends and family.<\/p>\n Joy Lu is an assistant professor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University who studies delivery app pricing. She calls food delivery an \u201caffordable luxury\u201d: a way for people to treat themselves without majorly splurging. But the fees on delivery apps can add up, resulting in sticker shock at checkout. Lu says people might be afraid to reveal their true delivery tab because they do not want to be perceived as wasting money.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople might be hesitant to talk about this because we have a sense that these food delivery apps are taking a cut and it\u2019s not all going to the delivery person,\u201d Lu said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel great to admit that we\u2019re paying this extra money and contributing to these companies\u2019 profits.\u201d<\/p>\n A DoorDash worker rides his bicycle along a path on the West Side Highway in New York. Photograph: John Minchillo\/AP<\/p>\n The Federal Trade Commission, which has sparred<\/a> with delivery apps in the past, is reportedly considering new rules that would address undisclosed fees resulting from dynamic and surge pricing, reports<\/a> the industry publication Restaurant Business. Representatives for Grubhub and DoorDash told the Guardian that users are shown an itemized price, which includes all fees, before they place an order. \u201cCustomers can adjust their order at any time to stay within their budget,\u201d the Grubhub rep said in an email. The DoorDash spokesperson wrote: \u201cThere are no hidden costs on our platform.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, New York City\u2019s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, announced a $131.5m fine<\/a> against DoorDash for \u201csystemic violations of New York City\u2019s Delivery Worker Laws\u201d, including lack of, late, or insufficient payment, and violations of the state\u2019s mandatory minimum wage. It was the largest worker settlement in New York history, with $115m of the funds going to DoorDashers. In a statement<\/a>, DoorDash said \u201cour mistakes meant some DoorDashers were underpaid or paid late\u201d, adding the errors were \u201cunintentional\u201d.<\/p>\n As the cost of groceries continues to rise \u2013 this year, the USDA predicts<\/a> the cost of \u201cfood-at-home\u201d (AKA groceries) will rise 2.4% \u2013 some shoppers say it\u2019s becoming just as expensive to cook for themselves as it is to order out. That\u2019s a tough claim to substantiate, as it depends<\/a> on certain factors. For example, single people may be able to save money eating out compared with families, and people who live in grocery store deserts have to pay more for each trip once they factor in the price of gas.<\/p>\n Lu believes people might not even realize how much they are spending on delivery, or consciously avoid looking into the cost. \u201cYou don\u2019t really want to look into your app and see the total cost you spent,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to spend a bit at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n Some people are happy to reveal their reliance on food delivery. One New York-based influencer named Audrey Peters became TikTok\u2019s villain of the week earlier this year when she revealed she DoorDashes almost every single meal.<\/p>\n Peters described<\/a> a day where she spent $136.50 on a chicken salad, pizza, meatballs, hummus and ice-cream, among other indulgences. One order that particularly irked followers was her $19.44 Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, which she says was so expensive due to her tipping 20%. \u201cI feel really guilty about what I spent today,\u201d she said on the app. The content creator later told<\/a> New York magazine that she revealed this spending to \u201crage bait\u201d an audience primed to judge her laziness.<\/p>\n Ten years ago, millennials were told their weekly avocado toast or daily latte was the reason they would never be able to buy a house \u2013 never mind the fact that they came of age during a global financial crisis. Today, naysayers claim it\u2019s food delivery that\u2019s keeping gen Z from achieving their life goals. For example, a February Fox News segment found<\/a> anchor Sandra Smith telling viewers they could not complain about the cost of living while excessively DoorDashing too. Such finger-wagging could be the source of delivery shame.<\/p>\n