Recently, many online forums have been discussing the idea that "Taiwan's food delivery market has entered a plateau phase." This article will analyze the reasons behind this phenomenon.

What is a plateau?

Simply put, the penetration rate of the food delivery market has reached a certain peak, and growth is beginning to slow down. Prior to this, Taiwan’s food delivery market experienced a period of explosive growth, but that phase is now over.

What do the data tell us?

According to recent reports, user growth for both foodpanda and Uber Eats has slowed significantly. The focus of competition between the platforms has shifted from "acquiring new users" to "retaining existing users" and "increasing average order value."

Impact on food delivery drivers

The bright side

Once the market stabilizes, the subsidy war may cool off somewhat, but it won’t disappear entirely. Since platforms need to maintain a certain number of delivery riders, it’s unlikely they’ll suddenly slash pay significantly.

The challenging side

While the pie hasn’t gotten any bigger, the number of people vying for a slice hasn’t decreased. In other words, with the same number of orders and an increasing number of competitors, the competition is naturally becoming fiercer.

My Observations

Quite a few of my colleagues have already left the industry, while many newcomers have joined. The market is undergoing a shake-up, and only those who can consistently find their place will survive.