A number of popular food chains have started hiking the prices of menu items on delivery apps such as Menulog and UberEats in an effort to recoup lost costs.
Major chains and local take-out spots have increased their prices - sometimes by as much as $10 for a single item - to win back the cut taken by third-party delivery services.
Delivery services charge restaurants a commission of up to 30 per cent for every order, which is reduced for orders delivered by the restaurant’s own staff or picked up by customers.
UberEats and Menulog prices are already routinely higher than those in-store – even before delivery and service fees are applied, according to The Age.
Popular chain Zeus Street Greek, which has 24 stores across the country, is one of the worst offenders in price spiking with some items costing up to $10 more on delivery apps.
The Greek eatery charges $32 for a Spartan bowl on Uber Eats, but only $22 in-store or if ordered through its own website for pick-up.
Its pita wraps are between $5 and $6.50 more expensive if ordered through a third-party service.
The increases are on top of existing delivery and service fees.
Ramon Castillo, the chief marketing officer at Zeus Street Greek, told The Age the price difference was “100 per cent in place to offset the fees charged by third-party delivery companies”.
Other popular fast-food brands Fishbowl, Oporto, and Guzman y Gomez also mark up prices on delivery apps.
At Fishbowl, all salads are $4 more expensive through Uber Eats.
A double Bondi burger at Oporto costs $14.25 on delivery apps, but $10.75 in-store.
And a bowl of nachos from Guzman y Gomez cost $19 in-app, and $15.20 in-person – $3.80 less.
Mr Castillo said they had to push prices higher to absorb the costs of convenience.
“The convenience that delivery partners offer comes at a cost,” Mr Castillo told The Age.
“The ability for our franchisees to absorb these fees in addition to our other operational costs is simply not sustainable.”
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Large multinational fast-food chains, like KFC and McDonalds, also hike the prices of their menu items on delivery apps – some of their popular burgers are between $1 and $2 more expensive through UberEats.
Uber does not require restaurants that use its platform to conform to in-store pricing, a spokesperson told The Age which items a store decides to list and how they price them “is at the complete discretion of our partners”.
News.com.au has approached UberEats and Menulog for comment.
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