PM says to eat local, and try their deliveries

The prime minister has encouraged Kiwis to eat local and use restaurants that do their own deliveries under alert level three.

Restaurants are calling on the Government to step in, as Uber Eats charges a commission of about 30 to 35 per cent for most purchases, considerably more than many other delivery services.

Because in-store purchases would still not be allowed under level three, Restaurant Association NZ said businesses would be overly reliant on third-party delivery apps, and would be working to thin margins.

‘‘Uber Eats is essentially taking the shirt off the industry’s back,’’ the association’s chief executive, Marisa Bidois, said. ‘‘These are the hardest three months this industry has faced in its history, and we are likely going to be looking at a one-infive closure rate.’’

She has written to Finance Minister Grant Robertson and other ministers asking for a cap to be put on the amount of commission an app can charge.

But in her daily coronavirus briefing yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was up to consumers to choose restaurants that did not use Uber Eats.

Asked whether the Government would consider putting a cap on how much Uber Eats can charge restaurants, Ardern said:

‘‘I would just encourage consumers, all New Zealanders who may be looking forward next week to accessing take away food . . . to look at your favourite local eatery – and I do encourage you to support local businesses – and just look at whether or not they offer delivery directly themselves.’’

An Uber spokesperson failed to respond to specific queries from Stuff based on Ardern’s remarks.

They said: ‘‘Given the uncertainty and potentially lengthy nature of the current pandemic, our support package is focused on measures that are sustainable for us as a business, and also help restaurant partners to continue to attract customers and increase order volumes.’’

Ardern said she understood the high levels of commission had ‘‘been Uber’s business model and continues to be their model.’’

By comparison, leading local competitor Delivereasy charges a 20 per cent commission.

Delivereasy director Nick Foster said their commission was ‘‘a lot fairer’’ than Uber Eats.

As the largest local Uber Eats alternative, Delivereasy is available in 12 cities, but notably not in Auckland or Christchurch.

Foster said they planned to launch in both cities in the next three weeks with a free delivery promotion.