Australian households are paying as much as 40 per cent more for the convenience of having groceries delivered through third-party apps, new research from Choice has revealed.
The consumer advocacy group’s findings come amid a booming home-delivery market now worth more than $15 billion and forecast to more than triple by 2034.
Aldi recently joined the competition against major supermarkets by partnering with DoorDash to offer home delivery, while Coles and Woolworths also allow customers to place orders via third-party platforms as well as their own websites.
Noting that services such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Milkrun can deliver groceries “in some cases in less than an hour”, Choice compared the cost of 13 common products purchased in-store against those ordered through delivery apps.
It found that individual items were on average 11 per cent more expensive via third-party services, with some costing up to 42 per cent more – and that’s before adding delivery and service fees.
“Of the 13 items we compared, seven of the products from Aldi were priced higher on DoorDash when compared to the price you pay in-store,” said Choice editorial director Mark Serrels.
“Twelve of the 13 items were priced higher on a Woolworths Milkrun order, and for all other comparisons, the prices for each item were higher when purchased via the third-party service when compared to what you would pay if you actually went in-store.
“If you purchase a 400-gram tub of Lurpak (butter) in-store from Woolworths, it’s $9. If you forget you’ve run out of spread for tomorrow’s sandwiches and place an order via UberEats, it will cost you a whopping $10.20.”
Overall, the basket of groceries from Aldi cost $53.22 when delivered by DoorDash – 31 per cent more than the in-store price.
The same items from Coles cost $59.73 via DoorDash or $60.53 through Uber Eats – 33 and 35 per cent more respectively. From Woolworths, Milkrun offered the cheapest total at $51.60, while ordering the same basket through Uber Eats cost $57.39, or 39 per cent more than in store.
Delivery fees across all platforms ranged from $5 to just over $11.
“When we compared, the flat fee for a fast delivery from the Coles and Woolworths websites was $15,” Serrels said.
“This matched the price of our Coles orders from DoorDash and Uber Eats, but for Woolworths, the Milkrun order was the cheapest option.”
Ice-cream lovers were hit hardest, with Coles vanilla ice-cream cone four-packs jumping from $3.70 in store to $5.25 – 42 per cent more – when delivered via DoorDash or Uber Eats. A block of Choceur milk chocolate from Aldi cost $4.99 in store or $5.79 delivered through DoorDash.
Choice said nearly all supermarkets and platforms attributed higher prices to the cost of convenience. Its analysis did not account for any free or discounted delivery memberships such as Coles Plus, Uber One, Woolworths Delivery Unlimited or DashPass.
Aldi has previously said “everyday essentials” such as fresh produce, milk and eggs are among the most popular items ordered through DoorDash.
After launching its on-demand delivery trial in Canberra in July, the retailer found early customers were using the service to “conveniently solve some of life’s messiest problems”.
“One order of nappies and wipes and another containing two bags of cat food and a pack of toilet paper were delivered on the trial’s first day within hours of going live,” Aldi noted at the time.
Since then, the German-owned supermarket has expanded deliveries to stores across Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales.
It also highlighted some state-by-state quirks, “Canberrans have a sweet tooth, with shoppers in the nation’s capital choosing the sweet Belmont Biscuit Co Chocolate Flavoured Crème Wafers 125-grams as their ultimate snack, while Western Australians, Queenslanders, South Australians and Victorians favour savoury bites instead.”
Aldi retained its title as Australia’s cheapest supermarket in Choice’s quarterly price report released in June.
However, both Coles and IGA disputed the findings, arguing the research did not capture the full range of discounts available in their stores.
Images: Shutterstock
