[clairity]

yes, this wave of delivery services haven't solved last-mile logistics in any meaningful way over previous waves. their main "innovation", popularized by uber, is outsourcing the capital investment to less sophisticated operators (while matching and real-time routing have improved, those are incremental improvements at best).

no one has cracked the core logistics problem involving time or cost, which is the real hump. i can literally order a pizza, walk to the store to pick it up, and return in less time than a delivery service can deliver, and i've saved all that overhead cost and it's warmer/fresher to boot. even moreso with groceries. granted, i'm in a city, but the gambit of delivery is that the city is the real shizzle for delivery.

until the logistics problem is solved, it makes little sense to use a delivery app for more than as an occasional novelty or treat.

[ghaff]

Once you can walk (easily) to pick up a takeout order, the value of delivery goes down pretty quickly. Not that I have great takeout options near where I live, but I'm going to have to hop in a car and it's going to take me probably close to 30 minutes to pickup an order when all is said and done. If I had good takeout delivery options, I would definitely use them now and then.

[clairity]

fair. the psychology is interesting though. people almost never want food 30 minutes from now. we want food now, when we think of it.

but "now" is contextual. empty time between desire and fulfillment is dreadful, to be avoided. waiting for delivery still burns background brain cycles keeping tabs on it (not to mention how much harder it is to decide and order via an app) and therefore isn't a pancea in itself. this is especially true when you want to put those otherwise wasted cycles to work on something more important.

if you go to pick it up, you're making progress toward the goal, and "now" stretches out along that task. it feels somewhat like you're getting food "now", even 30 minutes later. you don't feel that same sense of waste. but if you're already wasting time (like watching tv), then the strain of waiting isn't nearly as consequential or burdensome.

in any case, if i lived in a more suburban area, i'd still likely rather drive and pick up the food (as we did growing up) than get it delivered. it's still often faster, fresher, and cheaper than delivery apps, and you don't have the parking issues that can make pickup harder in urban areas.