food delivery riders research paper

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A comparison of characteristics between food delivery riders with and without traffic crash experience during delivery in Malaysia

Rusdi rusli.

a School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

Mazlina Zaira Mohammad

Noor azreena kamaluddin, harun bakar.

b Prevention, Medical and Rehabilitation Division, Social Security Organization (SOCSO), Ministry of Human Resources, Menara PERKESO, 281, Jalan Ampang, 50538 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mohd Hafzi Md Isa

The rapid development of e-commerce and the spread of the COVID-19 virus created many new jobs opportunity including food delivery riders known as P-Hailing riders. The number of food delivery riders has increased drastically, especially in Malaysia. Consequently, the number of food delivery riders involved in traffic crashes also increased. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of food delivery riders involved in traffic crashes during delivery and to compare with the characteristics of food delivery riders without any traffic crash history. This paper explores and compares general characteristics, previous experience of working and receiving traffic tickets, and knowledge of road safety. Due to unavailable official records about the number of active food delivery riders in Malaysia, this study focuses on riders who registered as members of the Malaysian P-Hailing Association, PENGHANTAR. A total of 225 food delivery riders participated in the online survey conducted through Google Form. Categorical data analysis techniques were used to examine the different characteristics of food delivery riders with and without traffic crash experiences. Results show that the odds ratio of young and full-time riders are respectively about 2.05 times and 1.79 times higher than being involved in traffic crashes. Other factors that increase the odds of being involved in traffic crashes include having more than two years of experience in delivery, an average distance travelled of>100 km a day, working previously in the food and grocery sector, and without working experience. The findings from this study will help related agencies to design and develop awareness programs targeting this group of riders.

1. Introduction

The rapid development of electronic commerce (e-commerce) has changed traditional business models around the world. In 2016, e-commerce generated approximately US$400 billion in the United States, EUR 601 billion in Europe, and US$11 billion in South Asia ( Nair, 2017 ). In Malaysia, there have been upward trends in the e-commerce industry in recent years. For example, in 2017, the e-commerce business value was US$3.6 billion and rose to US$8 billion in 2019 ( Morgan, 2020 ). Among the biggest growth areas in the e-commerce industry is food delivery services. It is projected that by the year 2022, the food delivery business will grow to annual revenue of US$956 million, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the food market ( Milo, 2018 ). In early 2020, the world was shocked by the pandemic COVID-19. The Malaysian government has introduced a different approach to combating this pandemic to reduce the number of infected people. For example, during the Movement Control Order (MCO), customers were not allowed to dine in at the restaurants, while during the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) and Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), restaurants needed to reduce their seating capacity to maintain social distancing between tables. As an alternative, customers and restaurants are moving to online and delivery services to buy or sell food. Many companies offer food delivery services in Malaysia, including FoodPanda, DeliverEat, Ubar Eats, Grab Food, Lalamove, Honestbee, and Running Man Delivery. These companies have appointed local riders to deliver food and parcels. For example, Foodpanda has 30,000 riders working for them around the country ( Murugiah, 2021 ). This scenario created a new job opportunity, and most were food delivery riders, also known as P-Hailing riders in Malaysia. To support the development of the food delivery business, it is important to understand the risk factors associated with this job.

The trend of traffic crashes involving food delivery riders has also increased recently worldwide. For example, there are 76 fatal crashes in Shanghai, China involving delivery riders in the first 6 months of 2017 and nearly-one delivery rider died from a traffic crash every 2.5 days ( Daily, 2017 ). In Malaysia, although there is not a specific breakdown for food delivery riders, 66 % of the people killed in traffic crashes in Malaysia are motorcyclists ( Dave, 2020 ). Based on three months of crash statistics recorded by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), there are 4 fatalities, 55 serious injuries, and 73 slight injuries were reported from two food delivery services companies, Foodpanda and GrabFood ( Tamrin, 2020 ). The Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) reported there were>150 road traffic crashes involving food delivery riders that happens between March and June 2020 ( Bernama, 2021 ). Additionally, there is often news about crashes involving this group of riders. To avoid the increasing number of fatalities in Malaysia, this issue must be well understood before a targeted countermeasure can be proposed. Intensive study is the only way to understand this issue. However, the research related to the safety of food delivery riders is very limited in Malaysia.

Previous studies identified many risk factors associated with traffic crashes involving food delivery riders. A study conducted in the Republic of Korea analysed the data of motorcycle crashes of 1,310 food delivery workers that have been approved as on-duty industrial crashes since 2015 ( Byun et al., 2017 ). They found that 99.2 % of crash-involved food delivery riders were males and 82.6 % had less than six months of work experience. Another study also conducted in the Republic of Korea analysed the traffic crashes involving 671 motorcycle curriers and found 50.6 % were aged less than 40 years, 49.2 % ran a small business of less than five employees, and 47.2 % had work experience of less than six months ( Shin et al., 2019 ). Further study by ( Byun et al., 2020 ) about the effect of age and violations on occupational accidents among 1,317 injured motorcyclists performing food delivery in the Republic of Korea. Among injured riders, 67.4 % were temporary workers, 76.1 % worked in small companies with fewer than five employees, 58.7 % in the night time, and 51.5 % had work experience of less than one month. They also found that the violation rate decreased with age. A study in two cities in China; Shanghai, and Nanjing found less rest, higher frequency of engaging in risky riding behaviours, and completing more daily orders significantly associated to crash involvement among delivery riders ( Zheng et al., 2019 ). Tran et al. (2022) conducted a study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam found many delivery riders adopt risky riding behaviours due to job pressure, long working hours and financial commitment. It is crucial to know the association between the characteristics of food delivery riders and traffic crash experiences before further action can be taken. However, the amount of evidence available to explain road traffic crashes involving food delivery riders is relatively scarce in Malaysia.

The economic downturn due to the pandemic of COVID-19 has led some people to lose their jobs. As an alternative, they become food delivery riders to earn a living. Food delivery riders earn money based on the number of deliveries that have been made. They will earn more money if they make more deliveries. As for food delivery, they also got pressure from customers about the duration of delivery of food ( TheSTAR, 2021 ). Many food delivery riders violate a traffic law to get a high income and avoid complaints from customers. Based on previous research, about two-thirds of the delivery riders disobeyed traffic rules and about one-third committed a serious safety violations including holding their phones in their hands while riding, running red lights, making illegal U-turns, and riding in the wrong direction ( Dave, 2020 ). Among the factors associated with traffic violation behaviours among motorcycle curriers were a small business of less than 5 employees (13.9 %), with work experience of less than 6 months (13.9 %), on cloudy or clear days (12.4 %), at an intersection (29.8 %), in the type of “crash with a vehicle” (31.2 %), or a deadly traffic crash (35.7 %) ( Shin et al., 2019 ). Papakostopoulos et al. ( Papakostopoulos and Nathanael, 2021 ) investigated the intricate interrelationship of occupational factors underlying the risky driving behaviour of food delivery riders in Athens, Greece, with a focus on two serious offenses: red-light running and helmet non-use. They discovered that common health and safety precautions had an impact on serious traffic offenses; instead, they found a relationship between young age and both offenses. However, various work circumstances such as less working experience, use of a personal vehicle on the job, and hourly payment were associated with red-light running behaviours, while intense work pace, high tip income per day, and low concern about vehicle condition were associated with helmet non-use. In Malaysia, ( Kulanthayan et al., 2012 ) conducted a study to determine the factors that influence non-standard safety helmet use by food delivery workers. They found that 55.3 % of fast-food delivery workers use non-standard helmets. A study conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) discovered 70 % of food delivery riders have broken the traffic regulations during delivery ( Supramani, 2021 ). In addition, this study also reveals that few of traffic violation including stopping within yellow box (57 %), red-light running (16 %), mobile phone use during riding (15 %), riding in opposite direction (7 %) and performing illegal U-turns (5 %). Although there is some research about food delivery riders, much more remains to be known about factors associated with crash occurrence among this group of riders.

Therefore, the objectives of this study were to examine the characteristics of food delivery riders involved in traffic crashes during delivery and to compare with the characteristics of food delivery riders without any crash experience. It should be noted that the study focus on food delivery riders only includes those who deliver food using motorcycles. Compared to other motorcycle riders, food delivery riders more frequent disobey traffic rules due to time commitment in delivery ( Dave, 2020 ). In addition, the increasing number of motorcycle riders embarked in the food delivery industry during the pandemic has raised serious concerns among the safety actors as registered number of traffic violations and crashes. Three aspects analysed in this study include general characteristics of riders, previous experience in previous jobs and receiving traffic tickets, and knowledge of road safety. The scope of this study is limited to the riders who registered with the Malaysian P-Hailing Association, PENGHANTAR. The findings from this study could provide a proper road safety awareness program targeting this group of riders. In addition, findings from this study are also necessary for researchers to further analyse the identified factors associated with food delivery riders.

2.1. Materials and data collection

A questionnaire has been developed to obtain information from food delivery riders to achieve the objectives of this study. The questionnaire consists of three sections including general characteristics (i.e., gender, age, job status, experience in delivery works, average monthly income, average daily working hours, and average daily distance travelled), previous experience (i.e., the previous job and received traffic ticket), and knowledge in road safety (i.e., frequency of motorcycle servicing, basic knowledge about safety as a food delivery rider and behaviour of holding the mobile phone while riding). In addition, the participants also need to state their experience being involved in traffic crashes during delivery.

This research has used an online survey to obtain feedback from food delivery riders. Due to unavailable official information about the numbers of active food delivery riders in Malaysia, this study used the number of members registered with the Malaysian P-Hailing Association, PENGHANTAR as a study population. Based on the record from PENGHANTAR, the number of registered members reached approximately 4,000 riders in December 2020. This study followed Hair et al. ( Hair et al., 2018 ) to determine the appropriate sample size. As the ideal sample-to-variable ratio for observational research, they suggest 15:1 to 20:1. If we use the lower ratio of 20:1, with 11 variables in this study, 220 samples or observations are necessary.. The link to the survey was distributed among the PENGHANTAR members using the official communication platform, Facebook “Persatuan Penghantar P-Hailing Malaysia”. The online survey was available for five months and was accessible from 1st December 2020 until 30th April 2021. Riders who completed the survey received a voucher worth RM10. During online surveying, about 6 % (2 4 0) of the registered food delivery riders voluntarily participated in this study which is more than the minimum sample size.

2.2. Data analysis

This study applied disaggregate-analysis techniques to examine the different characteristics of riders with and without traffic crash experiences. A series of chi-square tests in the form of contingency tables with a 5 % level of confidence was formed to compare the statistical differences between with and without crash experience across the range of explanatory variables. We also calculate the odds ratio to measure the effect of size and strength of the relationship between pairs of categorical variables. The selection of this technique is due to the capability to elucidate underlying trends and patterns. This is very important for us as the first step to comprehending the safety scenario for riders of food delivery services. This technique has been used widely in road safety research. For example, Rusli et al. (2015) applied this technique to compare the characteristics of road traffic crashes along rural mountainous roads and non-mountainous roads. Another study in the US used this technique in their data analysis to evaluate the safety edge treatment for pavement edge drop-offs on two-lane rural roads ( Lyon et al., 2018 ).

3. Results and discussion

A total of 240 riders participated in this survey. However, after the data cleaning process, the final participant is 225. Out of these, 93 riders (41 %) have been involved in traffic crashes during deliveries. This finding shows that more than one-quarter of the food delivery riders were involved in traffic crashes out of the total respondents in this study. This finding explains the increasing trend in road traffic crashes reported nationwide ( Tamrin, 2020 , Bernama, 2021 ). Furthermore, forty-one riders (18 %) reported being involved in at least one traffic crash, 25 riders (11 %) were involved in two traffic crashes, and 27 riders (12 %) claimed that they had been involved in more than three traffic crashes. Due to less feedback from the female riders (3 %), gender was dropped from the discussion list. Further discussions were held based on the differences in general characteristics, previous experience in previous jobs and receiving traffic crashes, and knowledge in road safety among delivery riders with and without traffic crash history. As mentioned before, this study will only discuss the variables with a p-value less than 0.05. P-value more than0.05 implies that no effect has been observed.

3.1. General characteristics

Table 1 represents a univariate analysis comparing the general characteristics of food delivery riders with and without traffic crash experience. The age of riders was divided into two categories: young riders ( Kulanthayan et al., 2012 ) and middle-aged riders ( Zhang et al., 2020 ). About 65 % of riders who experienced being involved in traffic crashes were young riders. Compared to middle-aged riders, young riders were slightly overrepresented involved in traffic crashes, with the corresponding odds about 2.05 times (95 %CI 0.28–0.84) higher compared to not involved in traffic crashes (p less than 0.01). This finding is in line with a study in the Republic of Korea ( Byun et al., 2020 ). They found more than half of the injured riders were young riders (less than 29 years old). They also found that 16 % of them violated traffic rules and regulations. This group of riders are inexperienced, lack proper riding skills and are risk-taker ( Haworth and Rowden, 2010 ). A study in Greece also revealed age is a critical risk factor and found young riders are the common dominators of red-light running and helmet non-use among food delivery riders ( Papakostopoulos and Nathanael, 2021 ). This group of riders has a greater attitude during riding and are more likely to engage in risky behaviours compared to older riders. The same trend was also observed among young non-food delivery riders in Malaysia ( Manan and Várhelyi, 2012 ). Fig. 1 presents the detailed distribution of riders with and without traffic crash experience across ages.

General Characteristics.

*reference category.

Percentage of Riders by Age for Riders With and Without Traffic Crash Experience.

About 66 % of riders involved in traffic crashes during delivery were full-time riders. The odds of full-time riders being involved in traffic crashes were about 79 % (95 %CI 1.04–3.10) higher than part-time riders. This finding might be due to the work environment between full-time and part-time riders. Part-time workers may perhaps have other sources of income, and they are more flexible due to their other commitments and activities ( Ashkrof et al., 2020 ). They do not need to be rushing for delivery compared to the full-time rider who depends entirely on this job as their income.

In terms of experience, about 71 % of food delivery riders involved in traffic crashes have had less than two years of experience in this job. However, the result of the odds ratio shows that riders with experience of two years and more have high odds involved in traffic crashes as much as 2.59 times (95 %CI 1.32–5.05) compared to riders with experience less than two years (p less than 0.01). Although most previous studies ( Byun et al., 2017 , Shin et al., 2019 ) found that experienced riders were less likely to cause traffic accidents, the findings of this recent study show that they were also less cautious when riding for food deliveries. Another reason that needs to be considered is the exposure factors while the increased period of working as a food delivery rider, the exposure to the crash also increases. Further research is needed to identify this contradictory finding. Fig. 2 presents the percentage of riders by delivery experience for riders with and without traffic crash experience.

Percentage of Riders by Delivery Experience for Riders With and Without Traffic Crash Experience.

Riders in the food delivery industry are mostly paid based on the number of deliveries. An increased number of deliveries will increase the income of the riders. Most of the food delivery companies in Malaysia do not have the maximum number of working hours for their riders in a day. Findings from this study reveal that about 11 % of the respondents work >12 h per day. Nevertheless, it was found that there was no significant difference in average monthly income between riders with and without crash experience (p > 0.05). This study also found daily working hours spent by food delivery riders are not statistically different between riders with and without traffic crash experience (p > 0.05). However, daily distance travelled of 200 km and more, compared to less than 200 km, increases the likelihood of being involved in traffic crashes by as much as 1.79 times (95 %CI 1.04 – 3.10) (p = 0.04). This is due to the exposure factors of riders on the road. The majority of road safety studies discovered that increasing distance travelled is positively associated with the occurrence of a crash. For example, a study among motorcycle taxis in Vietnam found high daily travel distances were associated with crash occurrences ( Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2019 ). In Malaysia, distance travelled is among the factors identified as influencing crash occurrence among commuter workers by motorcycle ( Oxley et al., 2013 ). Fig. 3 shows the percentage of riders by average daily distance travelled for riders with and without traffic crash experience.

Percentage of Riders by Average Daily Distance Travelled for Riders with and without Traffic Crash Experience.

3.2. Previous experience in job and receiving traffic ticket

Table 2 presents the distribution of riders with and without traffic crash experience across previous job sectors and experienced received traffic tickets or fines. As mentioned before, the food delivery sector has been increasing recently due to the growth of e-commerce. This sector became more popular when the COVID-19 Pandemic spread around the world, forcing many sectors to shut down including restaurants. In this study, the previous job was categorized into seven categories based on the feedback from respondents. Among them, riders who did not have any previous working experience were overrepresented in the crash, representing about 22 % of all riders who have experience in traffic crashes. Compared to riders from the transportation sector, riders with no previous working experience were about 3.50 times (95 %CI 1.22 – 10.04) more likely to be involved traffic crashes (p = 0.02). This study used the transportation sector as a reference because it is similar to food delivery services.

Previous Job Experience and Receiving Traffic Ticket.

The government servants and the professional sector represent the second largest group of food delivery riders (19 %) followed by the food and groceries sector with about 15 %. Compared to the transportation sector, the odds of food delivery riders previously from the food and grocery sector were about 3.39 times (95 %CI 1.16 – 9.91) higher to involve in traffic crashes (p = 0.02). The explanation might be due to riders formerly from the food and grocery sectors needing to learn new skills as riders compared to their previous jobs, which were mostly involved in restaurants and shops. Other work sectors such as business, factories, government servants and professionals, and services were found to be not significantly different between riders with and without traffic crash experience (p > 0.05). Fig. 4 shows the percentage of riders by previous job for riders with and without traffic crash experience.

Percentage of Riders by Previous Job for Riders With and Without Traffic Crash Experience.

Another variable found with no significant difference between riders with and without traffic crash experience is experienced received a traffic ticket (p > 0.05). About 30 % of riders with traffic crash experience got traffic tickets due to traffic violence compared to about 21 % of riders without traffic crash experience. Nevertheless, in Brazil, drivers with a history of traffic tickets are associated with crash involvement ( Rios et al., 2020 ). According to a study conducted in Massachusetts, the United States, traffic tickets significantly reduce traffic crashes and non-fatal injuries ( Luca, 2015 ).

3.3. Knowledge in road safety

Three factors were examined to identify the relationship between knowledge of road safety and involvement in traffic crash, including the frequency of servicing motorcycles, basic knowledge about safety as food delivery riders, and mobile phone use during riding. Based on the distribution between riders with and without traffic crash experience in Table 3 , the same observation for frequency motorcycle servicing was observed. Most riders with and without traffic crash experience prefer to service their motorcycle on a daily basis with about 41 % and 42 %, respectively. The odds ratio analysis confirms that there are no significant differences between these groups (p > 0.05). Referring to the basic knowledge about safety as a food delivery rider, the same observation was also found. There is no specific course that needs to be attended by the food delivery riders when first joining this job (p > 0.05). However, 70 % of riders with crash experience and 79 % of riders without crash experience reported having basic traffic safety knowledge.

Knowledge in Road Safety.

The use of the mobile phone during riding shows the same proportion between riders with and without traffic crash experience about 25 % and 24 %, respectively. Analysis of the odds ratio shows there are no significant differences between both groups with regards to the holding mobile phone (p > 0.05). Although previous research has found that mobile phones increase the likelihood of being involved in a crash, the mobile phone is important for food delivery riders because it provides navigation to the delivery address. A study in China confirms that 96.3 % out of 315 respondents among food deliverymen used mobile phone while riding ( Zhang et al., 2020 ). There were about 21 % of all courier and take-out food delivery riders by electric bike in China using a mobile phone ( Wang et al., 2021 ). Oviedo-Trespalacios et al. (2022) found cyclists delivering food used handheld mobile phones differently depending on the time of day. The focus of this study is only on riders who hold their phones while riding. Further studies need to be conducted to confirm the use of the mobile phone (text, wayfinding, phone, and use of the application) during riding among food delivery riders.

4. Conclusion

This study applied the disaggregated-analysis technique to examine the characteristics of riders with and without traffic crash experiences. An online survey was conducted among the food delivery riders who registered as members of PENGHANTAR, the Malaysian P-Hailing Association. Based on participants feedback, several explanatory variables were tested in this study including age, job status, experience in delivery, monthly income, daily working hours, and daily delivery distance. In addition, previous working experience and history of receiving traffic tickets were also tested. Lastly, knowledge of the riders toward road safety was also tested including the frequency of motorcycle servicing, basic knowledge about the safety of food delivery, and holding mobile phones while riding.

The results show that young, full-time, experienced, and those who travel equal to or>100 km daily are more likely to be involved in road traffic crashes. Riders who previously did not work or worked in the food and grocery sector are more likely to be involved in traffic crashes. This study also confirms that the frequency of servicing motorcycles and having basic knowledge about the safety of food delivery is not significantly different between riders with and without crash experience. Interestingly, although the number of riders holding the mobile phone during riding was higher, there were no significant differences between both categories of riders (with or without crash experience).

There are some limitations to this study. First, the number of populations cannot be identified due to unavailable official records about the number of active food delivery riders in Malaysia. Food delivery riders can be categorized as freelance work and not covered under the Employment Act 1995 (Act 265) (1995) . To protect self-employed individuals, the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) offers the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS) under the provisions of the Self-Employment Social Security Act 2017 (Act 789) (2017) . Alternative, a record from SOCSO could be used as a data source in future research. Second, data for this study was obtained on a self-reported online questionnaire distributed through social media to the PENGHANTAR association members only. Third, this study's focus on mobile phone usage as a whole ignores the impact of specific mobile phone uses, such as texting, calling, location-based services, and delivery apps. Future research should include these observations in order to get an in-depth understanding of the distraction of food delivery riders during riding. In addition, advanced analysis techniques such as the development of binary logistic regression should be considered in future research to examine the relevant variables discovered in this study using data from the SOCSO.

Although this study has some limitations, it does identify some basic characteristics between riders with and without crash experience as food delivery riders. Based on the findings from this study, it is important to introduce a short course for new food delivery riders to increase their understanding of safe riding, especially for those riders without working experience or who have previously worked in other sectors. In addition, regular safety campaigns should be provided to increase awareness of road safety among full-time, experienced and riders with higher daily travelled distances. ( Wang et al., 2021 ) also suggested that distribution companies create a safety campaign as one strategy to lower the risk of crashes among delivery riders in Shanghai, China. This current study also discovered a relationship between young riders and crash experiences. Implementing a demerit point system for young delivery riders or perhaps setting an age restriction should be considered, as suggested by ( Papakostopoulos and Nathanael, 2021 ). It should be noted that the respondents in this study are PENGHANTAR members and all suggestions are primarily appropriate for PENGHANTAR use. However, other relevant authorities or service providers also can consider these findings where suitable.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

ISSN : 0959-6119

Article publication date: 26 May 2022

Issue publication date: 26 July 2022

Online food delivery (OFD) has witnessed momentous consumer adoption in the past few years, and COVID-19, if anything, is only accelerating its growth. This paper captures numerous intricate issues arising from the complex relationship among the stakeholders because of the enhanced scale of the OFD business. The purpose of this paper is to highlight publication trends in OFD and identify potential future research themes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a tri-method study – systematic literature review, bibliometric and thematic content analysis – of 43 articles on OFD published in 24 journals from 2015 to 2021 (March). The authors used VOSviewer to perform citation analysis.

Systematic literature review of the existing OFD research resulted in six potential research themes. Further, thematic content analysis synthesized and categorized the literature into four knowledge clusters, namely, (i) digital mediation in OFD, (ii) dynamic OFD operations, (iii) OFD adoption by consumers and (iv) risk and trust issues in OFD. The authors also present the emerging trends in terms of the most influential articles, authors and journals.

Practical implications

This paper captures the different facets of interactions among various OFD stakeholders and highlights the intricate issues and challenges that require immediate attention from researchers and practitioners.

Originality/value

This is one of the few studies to synthesize OFD literature that sheds light on unexplored aspects of complex relationships among OFD stakeholders through four clusters and six research themes through a conceptual framework.

• Online food delivery
• Sharing economy
• Systematic literature review
• Bibliometric analysis
• Content analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors thank three anonymous reviewers, the guest editor, and the editor-in-chief for their critical and valuable comments in developing the manuscript in stages.

Shroff, A. , Shah, B.J. and Gajjar, H. (2022), "Online food delivery research: a systematic literature review", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , Vol. 34 No. 8, pp. 2852-2883. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2021-1273

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HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Study on instant delivery service riders' safety and health by the effects of labour intensity in china: a mediation analysis.

• 1 School of Public Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China
• 2 Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, Peking, China

The Instant Delivery Service (IDS) riders' overwork by “self-pressurisation” will not only reduce the level of their physical and mental health but also lose their lives in safety accidents caused by their fatigue riding. The purpose of this article is to examine whether there is overwork among IDS riders in big and medium cities in China? What's going on with them? Based on the Cobb-Douglas production function in the input-output theory, this study characterised the factors on IDS riders' safety and health associated with labour intensity. A mediating model with moderating effect was adopted to describe the mediation path for the 2,742 IDS riders who were surveyed. The results of moderating regression demonstrated that (1) 0.4655 is the total effect of labour intensity on the safety and health of IDS riders. (2) 0.3124 is the moderating effect that working hours make a greater impact on labour intensity. (3) The mediating effect of work pressure is the principal means of mediation both upstream and downstream.

Introduction

The Instant Delivery Service (IDS) riders have been linked to the city's capillaries. The outbreak of COVID-19 prompted the number of IDS riders to increase in early 2020. The IDS riders delivered food, vegetables, and medicines to the inhabitants ignoring the dangers to themselves both day and night during the epidemic period. 20.8% of IDS riders are serviced by riding more than 50 kilometres per day ( 1 ). The number of workers has increased significantly in new employment forms such as online appointment distributors, online appointment drivers, and Taxi drivers employed on the Internet platform. IDS workers have bounded to the “human component” ( 2 ) of IDS which set up the game mechanism depending on the AI system, especially the IDS riders.

Most of the work of couriers takes place outdoors, where they are exposed to various environmental conditions such as weather, pollution, and the risk of accidents ( 3 ). The demand for fast deliveries and payment per delivery in some modes of employment put extra stress on couriers that increase the risk of unsafe behaviours and involvement in accidents ( 4 – 6 ). Statistics for Great Britain show that motorcyclists are more at risk of being killed or injured in a road traffic crash than any other type of vehicle user ( 7 ).

There was a definite relation between hours of work, fatigue, and involvement in a road accident ( 8 ). A number of studies have demonstrated that the risk of a motorcyclist having a crash increases with exposure and falls with age and riding experience [e.g., ( 7 , 9 – 11 )], increase crash risk include riding too fast e.g. ( 12 – 14 ).

Gig's work led some couriers to experience impairment caused by fatigue and pressure to violate speed limits and to use their phones whilst driving ( 15 ). Descriptive analysis for the assessed mobile phone use while driving (MPUWD) behaviours showed that 96.3% ( N = 315) of food deliverymen undertook the MPUWD behaviours, food deliverymen, interact with mobile phones while on work-related travels mostly for business rather than entertainment ( 16 ). One notable exception was intersections, where the risk of being involved in a conflict was twice as high for e-bikes as for conventional bicycles. The speed immediately preceding a conflict was higher for riders of e-bikes compared to conventional bicycles, a pattern that was also found for mean speed ( 17 ). Motorists tend to accept smaller gaps in crossing situations in front of an oncoming e-bike compared to a bicycle approaching at the same speed ( 17 ). This effect was hypothesised to be the result of an apparent mismatch between the cyclist's actual speed and the speed perceived by the motorist. Given that the motorised component eases acceleration for the e-bike rider, it could be expected that mis-judgements of e-bike speed are especially prevalent at intersections, resulting in an increased number of conflicts ( 17 ). Safety attitudes had a significant negative effect on aberrant riding behaviours. E-bike riders reporting more errors and aggressive behaviours were more prone to at-fault accidents involving. E-bike riders who had stronger positive attitudes towards safety and showed more worry and concern about their traffic risks tended to be less likely to engage in aberrant riding behaviours ( 18 ). The emergence of the gig driver could give rise to a perfect storm of risk factors affecting the health and safety not just of the people who work in the economy but of other road users ( 15 ). Higher traffic violations of laws, more and more frequent traffic accidents and casualties, it cannot be underestimated for IDS riders' safety.

Today, anyone who can prove their right to work in the UK can put themselves to work via on-demand platforms such as Deliveroo ( 19 ), which has successfully drawn in full-time and part-time riders, including students, migrant workers, and those looking to supplement their incomes with gig work ( 20 ). Were any of these individuals to suffer a crash, however, they would not qualify for employee compensation. Deliver riders are classified as “self-employed contractors rather than as employees of the company” ( 21 ).

IDS companies control the employees by carrying out “over the horizon management” and flat management by Internet technology ( 22 ). It is naturally and constantly weakened for the formal employment contract of IDS workers. IDS workers with informal employment relations cannot be protected by China's industrial injury insurance. The amount of compensation is very limited even if parts of workers insure themselves commercially.

The properties of the hegemonic factory regime make the employees working on the IDS platform be no sense of commitment and identity to their profession ( 23 ). IDS riders' work is instrumental and transitional. “No life, but work,” ( 24 , 25 ) The poor living conditions are only for the reproduction of physical strength and recovery of labour tools. IDS rider's concept of labour time and space runs counter to the presupposition of labour law, and their injury to occupational health and physical and mental health deviates from the labour legal standard.

Reportedly, delivery riders are temporarily employed, poorly paid, and often paid “by the job,” e.g., paid by the hour or the number of delivery goods ( 26 ). This tends to induce an intense work pace for long hours, without breaks but also higher work stress, work fatigue, and unsafe driving behaviours, e.g., running a red light or a stop sign ( 27 , 28 ). Since the motorcyclists could be forced by employers to shorten the delivery time ( 29 ), they could be forced to commit traffic violations inevitably ( 27 ). Many restaurants in Korea maintain quick-delivery service programs to satisfy customers. This service allows delivery workers limited time to deliver, which frequently puts them in danger ( 30 ). Stress and work overload were associated with reduced safety behaviour and increased risk of involvement in accidents ( 31 ).

The workers' fatigue savings formed by their high intensity of labour and pressure of life seriously affect their safety and health. It is seen often enough that overwork and sudden death of IDS riders.

Papakostopoulos and Nathanael ( 32 ) reported that the delivery industry lacks a safety culture, thus making risk-taking acceptable for a delivery rider in Greece. At least in this particular socio-cultural context, the estimated compliance of food delivery companies to safety and health rules suggesting to do so. This is supported by the vast majority of respondents (83%) reporting an intensive work pace (more than 3.5 deliveries per hour) suggesting that employers vastly promote fast delivery over self-protection ( 32 ). The fatigue savings of IDS riders mainly arise from the work game design of the platform and the cognitive psychology at work ( 33 – 35 ). To study the association factors and mechanism why IDS riders will be overworked, we should consider the factor of labour intensity. This paper analyzes the mediation path of the impact of labour intensity on safety and health in physical and mental, based on the hypothesis that labour intensity has a direct impact on IDS riders' safety and health.

It is the scholars abroad who first began their research of IDS riders. However, most of the research results focused on the safety guarantee of riding. With the development of China's platform economy, domestic scholars began to study IDS riders. However, most of the research results are related to their life and work on rights ( 36 ). In terms of research methods, qualitative research is generally carried out from the perspective of law and management. In these qualitative studies, there are few results on IDS rider health issues. From the literature search, there are few empirical studies on IDS riders by Chinese scholars ( 37 , 38 ). Of course, little empirical research is on the health issues of IDS riders.

This research mainly makes breakthroughs from two aspects: (1) In discussing the economic problem of IDS riders' income, their safety and health are also considered, and high-quality employment is promoted from the employment problems. (2) An empirical method is used to describe the intermediary path of IDS riders' safety and health.

Participants and Procedure

From June 2020 to June 2021, A total of 3,000 questionnaires were distributed in 16 districts and 2 counties in Beijing and 13 administrative regions in Wuhan (no survey was conducted in 6 functional areas).

The participants of IDS riders are from 12 IDS companies including Meituan, ELM, SF Express, EMS, JD, YTO, STO, ZTO, Rhyme Express, TTK Express, Best Express, and Homestead Express. These 12 companies have the largest scale in China's express industry and absorb a large number of IDS riders. They are also the most standardised enterprises which carry out the labour law standards. For IDS riders, these companies with formal management should be able to better protect their health and avoid overworking. If the employees of these companies are in a state of overwork, it shows that the sample is more persuasive.

According to the “Code of Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China” (2015 Edition), the “National Occupational Standard for Express Operators” (Draught), IDS riders were identified as our research object. They mainly focus on food and beverage distributors and express delivery. The research in the express industry is usually conducted when they pick up and pick up goods from 9 to 11 a.m. Because their personnel is relatively concentrated at this time. IDS riders in food and beverage distributors usually concentrate from 8:30 to 10:30 am. Before and after the morning meeting of the company, they can communicate freely or inquire about orders online for a while. Because there are few orders during this period, it is more convenient to investigate IDS riders in food and beverage distributors during this period.

In this study, if IDS riders are directly probability sampled, they would refuse to investigate because of their busy work. The sample selection process is judgmental sampling. We get the cooperation of enterprise management through the intervention of the administrative organisation. Judgment sampling, a non-probability sampling procedure, has low operation cost and is also suitable for the objective situation of tight funds in this study. Although there are disadvantages of tendentious influence, IDS riders have a high coincidence of working properties, so the non-probability sampling results can be inferred as a whole.

Among the questionnaires, 2,000 were distributed in Beijing, 1,000 were distributed in Wuhan, 2,848 were recovered, 107 invalids were excluded, and the rate of recovery was 94.9%, and the rate of effectiveness was 91.4%. Of the 106 invalid questionnaires, 95 were incomplete (the IDS riders did not complete the questionnaire). Because the answer results should be analysed together with the working conditions of the respondents, it is necessary to avoid mutual consultation when filling in together in the workplace. Six questionnaires cannot be counted due to the lack of data or inconsistencies between filling in and out. Five questionnaires were filled in by others instead, so we eliminate them. Therefore, we get 2,742 observations.

We take Beijing and Wuhan as the research areas, mainly because Beijing is a megacity and Wuhan is a megacity 1 .

These two cities are very developed and representative cities in express delivery. One is the capital, whose industrial development plays the role of a wind vane. Another reason is that Beijing has a simple terrain of the traffic route map, which can be used as a concise sample representative of urban planning. Wuhan is located in the central region, and its development level is equivalent to the national average standard. Wuhan has complex terrain, intricate, and intersecting rivers, lakes, and a vast area, which can be used as a sample representative of complex urban planning.

Data Analyses

The questions about safety and health in Part 1 of the questionnaire are mainly based on the Cumulative Fatigue Symptoms Index (CFSI) ( 39 , 40 ), Fatigue Scale-14 (FS-14) developed by Japan ( 41 ), and Fatigue Assessment Instrument (FAI) ( 42 ).

Japan's Fatigue Assessment Instrument has many design items, including not only physical but also spiritual. In addition to working conditions, it also analyzes the main causes of damage to health in working life from the aspects of living time and living conditions ( 43 ).

The results of factor analysis are classified and a new item classification is obtained 2 . CFSI includes five major causes, including sleepiness (Group V), restlessness (Group V), unhappiness (Group III), fatigue (Group V), and vertigo (Group V). It is composed of 25 subjective fatigue descriptions.

Fatigue Scale-14 was jointly compiled by Trudie Chalder ( 41 ) of King's College Hospital's psychological medical research laboratory and G. Berelowitz of Queen Mary's University Hospital in 1992. The scale consists of 14 items, including two dimensions: first, physical fatigue, which mainly evaluates physical strength, muscle strength, and rest, with a total of 8 items; The second is mental fatigue, which mainly evaluates memory, attention, and quick thinking, with a total of 6 items. FS-14 requires respondents to answer “yes” or “no” according to their actual situation, in which “yes” is 1 and “no” is 0. The higher the score, the more serious the fatigue is.

Fatigue Assessment Instrument was formulated by Joseph E, Schwartz of the American Psychiatric and behavioural sciences research laboratory, and Lina Jandorf of the neurology research laboratory in 1993 ( 44 ). Workers can make self-assessments based on this scale, which includes four dimensions: first, the severity of fatigue, which has 11 items; Second, the environmental specificity of fatigue, including 6 items; The third is the result of fatigue, including three items; fourth, the response of fatigue to rest and sleep, including 2 items. Each item in FAI shall be graded from 1 to 7.

The scale consists of 14 items, including two dimensions ( 45 ): first, physical fatigue, which mainly evaluates physical strength, muscle strength, and rest, with a total of 8 items; The second is mental fatigue, which mainly evaluates memory, attention, and quick thinking, with a total of 6 items. Fs-14 requires subjects to answer “yes” or “no” according to their actual situation, in which “yes” is 1 and “no” is 0. The higher the score, the more serious the fatigue is.

In the questionnaire of IDS riders, we designed options such as irritability, unable to control emotions, sleepy at work, lack of motivation, feeling weak limbs, and so on. According to the data in the survey, 50.4% of IDS riders sometimes felt impatient, irritable, and unable to control their emotions by themselves. They sometimes want to drop express items on the ground. 20.2% of them even often did that too. In the options about health, 27.2% of them have frequent physical issues (headache/dizziness/heart discomfort/tinnitus/dizziness, etc.). Comparing their stress of mental with physical, 56.3% chose “mental stress is greater than physical stress.” Regarding work status, 30.6% were in the range of 9–20 (II). 42.5% were in the range of 21~27(III). More than 20.4% were above 28 (IV) in the statistic. Making statistics on work Burden Indices, we found that 26% were in the early warning zone, 35.1% were in the danger zone, 23.3% were in the danger zone, and 6.2% were in the high-risk zone.

From the analysis above, according to the statistical data, we would conclude that most IDS riders were in an overworked state.

Dependent Variable

The dependent variable is the Work Burden Index reflects the degree of overwork in the zone of health risk, which is to measure the status of IDS riders' safety and health. The variables are in order. A higher value indicates lower health. The Work Burden Indexes representing safety and health are classified by I, II, III, and IV levels based on the 2 scales of self-conscious symptoms and working conditions.

The 7 points in a matrix 3 . form different zones of safety and health. The safety zone, early warning zone, dangerous zone, and high-risk zone can be seen in Table 1 .

Table 1 . Score of IDS riders' overwork (Work Burden Index).

In the zone of 0–1 point, IDS riders' job is easy and the hours are good; In the range of 2–3 points, IDS riders have a work burden, and their safety and health in the early warning zone; In the range of 4–5 points, IDS riders have a higher work burden and be in the danger zone; In the range of 6–7 points, IDS riders are in the high—risk zone.

According to the Work Burden Index matrix, safety and health are mainly completed in three steps.

Step 1: Divide the fatigue symptoms into health grades according to the Self-Diagnosis Scale of Fatigue Accumulation of Workers issued by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare in Japan, Safe Production Law of the People's Republic of China, and Guiding Opinions on Safeguarding Workers' Rights and Interests of Labour Security in New Forms of Employment issued by eight departments in China 4 . Construct an evaluation system to measure IDS riders' work burden. This system combined with the Fatigue Assessment Instrument, FS-14, Fatigue Scale-14, and the ten early warning signals of “overwork death” issued by the Japan Overwork Death Prevention Association. Then a scale is established to measure IDS riders' subjective feelings of fatigue, including 14 items: such as “impatient, irritable, unable to control their emotions, sometimes want to drop the delivery items on the ground,” “frequent physical issues (headache/dizziness/heart discomfort/tinnitus/dizziness, etc.).” The scores and grades are as follows: 0–8 is for I, 9–20 is for II, 21–27 is for III, and 28 or more is for IV.

Step 2: Classify the grade of work level. Eight items are in the work condition evaluation form, such as “sudden increase in the number of receiving and sending, the need to work overtime” and “mental pressure caused by work.” The standard of score and level are: 0 ~ 8 points are Grade A, 9–15 points are Grade B, 16–23 points are grade C, and more than 24 points are grade D.

“Five score rating scale” was drawn according to IDS riders' work. They are “never so (0), rarely so (1), sometimes so (2), often so (3), and always so (4).”

Step 3: Build a conscious symptom and work condition matrix to determine the safety and health zone of IDS riders.

Independent Variables

According to National Standard GB3869-83, physical labour intensity was divided into four levels: I (light labour), II (medium labour), III (heavy labour), and IV (extremely heavy labour). The measurement indicators are average energy consumption and net labour time 5 . However, it is difficult to measure the energy consumption in the survey. IDS riders' work is mainly determined by working hours and riding distance. (In the structural survey, we found that many riders are not only interested in the number of orders, but also concerned about their daily odometer). In this paper, the “average daily distance” is instead of the “energy metabolism rate” in National Standard GB3869-83. We keep the calculation formula and calculation coefficient unchanged. A calculated six-level labour intensity index is used as the independent variable.

Instrumental Variable

As the needs of the instrumental variable are correlated with the independent variables, the frequency of traffic offences and orders are tailored to the instrumental variables. The correlation is that IDS riders are easily distracted while driving in the mood of high work intensity and pressure. It is easy for IDS riders to cause traffic violations facing plenty of orders. Labour intensity increases with the increase in the number of orders. There is a correlation between the number of orders and labour intensity.

The instrumental variable also needs to meet the condition that it is not correlated to the disturbance item. We find that the number of orders is qualified as an instrumental variable that has no correlation to the random disturbance term. However, being the new economic form, IDS riders obtain tasks randomly on the platform through “online order-grabbing.” Random orders are knocked out without limited time and placed by different millions of customers on the platform. Since the random orders do not correlate with the error term, the instrumental variable is credible.

Another instrumental variable of traffic violation frequency has random too. Complex and changeable traffic full of the constant flow of vehicles and people randomly happens on traffic violations or accidents. Similarly, traffic violation frequency meets the requirements of an instrumental variable.

Theory Model

An increasing number of employees of IDS workers sign up for the IDS platform. It is a rational choice for flexible employees under the development situation of the new economics. U ij is for the utility of the IDS riders in the state of reasonable working hours and pleasant mood, and U ik is for the utility while they are in physical and mental fatigue state. WhenU ij ≥ U ik , IDS riders have higher physical health. IDS riders' utility is determined by career and restricted by the status of their family economy and the way to get income. As it is known to all, those characteristics of IDS riders have a low employment threshold, which makes them limited space for career to transform and less income to improve. An Intertemporal Utility Model for IDS riders can be constructed using the C-D Function:

Where U is for the utility of IDS riders, L1 and L2 are for IDS occupation and leisure consumption while quitting IDS, θ∈[0, 1].

Suppose that labour intensity is α∈[0, 6] 6 . In this paper, the average daily distance is used to replace the energy metabolic rate in the National Standard GB3-83. We keep the calculation formula and the coefficient of the labour intensity index. The “Daily Distance” is divided into 6 levels as the labour intensity index.

A rise α indicates an increase in labour intensity. The budget constraints for the two periods are

Among them, L 1 is the labour supply during the working period, and C is the total consumption expenditure for IDS riders' daily living; S is the savings during the working period, is the health cost during the working period, is the salary, t (α) is the working hours, and E is the non-labour income. The labour intensity α will affect by health costs, wages and working hours, etc. L 2 is the consumption of physical or leisure while quitting IDS, refers to the health cost after quitting IDS occupation, Y refers to the IDS riders' old-age pension, λS refers to the savings and transferred interest after quitting IDS occupation, and ln f is the legacy and death gratuity left to their family. Consumption capacity after they quit IDS depends on their all pension, savings, and the property left to their family.

Construct the Lagrange Function and take a derivative of labour intensity to solve IDS' Intertemporal Utility Function:

It can be seen from the above formula that the impact direction of labour intensity on the occupational utility of IDS riders is related not only to wage and working hours t (α), but also to the impact of labour intensity on wagesand working hours ∂ t ( α ) ∂ α , and so does the impact on intertemporal health costs and .

Measurement Model

The average age of IDS, riders is 26.4 years old. The employees are mainly male youth. This paper assumes that IDS riders are homogeneous, [λ(1−θ)] 1−θ and θ θ are constants 7 and >0; More labour supply will result in increases in working hours and salary. Both ∂ ω ( α ) ∂ α t ( α ) and ∂ t ( α ) ∂ α ω ( α ) will be >0. IDS riders will ignore or overdraft the health cost (current and future) to work which is likely an economic rational choice under the constraint of the platform. and will be also >0. According to these theories, we can deduce Hypothesis 1.

H1: The increase in riders' labour intensity makes the Work Burden Index rise, which eventually leads IDS riders to overwork and is in the zone of health risk.

Due to the order-grabbing system in the IDS industry, the substitution effect of labour supply caused by salary is greater than the income effect. To increase working hours, the result is to improve labour intensity. From this, we can get Hypothesis 2.

H2: Salary and working hours play a moderating role.

The effect of increasing work intensity on health is not direct, where job stress and job satisfaction have a mediating role. Therefore, we can propose Hypothesis 3.

H3: Job stress and job satisfaction play a mediation role between labour intensity and safety and health.

Labour intensity is ordered by multiple categorical variables, and its value has only ordered significance and lacks an interval scale. Therefore, this study selects the Ordered Multinomial Logistic Regression Model:

Where, H is the health degree of IDS rider i in an urban area j , and LI (Labour Intensity) is the labour intensity of IDS rider i in an urban area j ; X ij is the control variable group; α, β and γ are the parameters to be estimated.

However, there are many factors affecting the health level of IDS riders. In addition to the physical health level characteristics of IDS riders, there are also external complex factors such as urban discrimination against migrant workers, riders' living conditions, and living environment. It is difficult to completely control in the model, and other unobservable factors may be omitted, which would result in the endogenous problem. On the other hand, there can be a reverse causality between labour intensity and safety and health. Different knowledge about familiarity with urban rods will make IDS riders safer and healthier. The safety and health of IDS users will also be exacerbated by the degree of congestion in various sections of urban traffic and psychological discouragement after poor evaluation. Due to the endogenous problem, this document selects an identification strategy by the instrumental variable analysis. We adopt IV-Logit Two-stage Estimation Method after adjusting the Logit Model above.

Estimated Results

The regression results in Table 2 , Model 1 only includes the core independent variable, and the significance of the regression results is not too strong. The age control variable was added to Model 2, and the test results were slightly improved. Three control variables of age, education, and gender were added to Model 3, and the significance was greatly enhanced. Model 4 adopts the IV-Logit Two-stage Method, the regression coefficient is more statistically significant, and the result is more reliable.

Table 2 . Model estimation results.

In model 4 (IV), the regression coefficient is significantly positive and the intensity is high. H1 is verified and supported. The increase in labour intensity will greatly increase the work burden, so it is a negative impact on safety and health.

Extreme Working Environment Analysis

We did not do a heterogeneity test for IDS riders of the model. The safety issues, more dangerous than health, are caused by the extreme working environment. Structure investigation is adopted to analyse the problem of safety.

Instant Delivery Service riders are exposed to outdoor work most of the time. The external factors harm their safety and health, such as hot sun, high temperature, fierce wind, rain and snow, and daily breathing exposure. Daily breathing exposure is mainly due to the excessive PM2.5 in haze air. The little difference in daily breathing exposure for the whole urban residents, so IDS riders are afraid of the hot sun, high temperature, wind, rain, and snow. Poor working environment, especially the extreme weather has the greatest impact on IDS riders. However, in the survey, it is believed that the impact of wind, rain, snow and high temperature, and hot sun on safety are, respectively, 78, 88, 94, and 23%. According to the structural interview survey, IDS riders generally don't care about the high temperature and hot sun. What is the reason that they take the first three items seriously, but the high temperature? It may be that the high temperature cannot prevent them from delivering. Another reason may be that they know little about the probability of heatstroke which leads to death. They have no medical understanding that high-temperature thermal fatigue may potentially induce safety and health issues, such as heart disease and coronary heart disease.

Mediating Path Analysis

The transmission path between labour intensity and safety and health is as follows: the stronger become the labour intensity, the greater cost the of safety and health. Labour intensity is not beneficial to physical safety and health.

A high income formed by labour utility may make IDS riders satisfied with their work. High satisfaction work makes workers be in good health, physical and mental. The impact is positive. While the work pressure of long working hours does harm workers physically and mentally. Then, that impact is negative. Therefore, in this study, we take income and working hours as moderating variables.

Salary has a substitution effect and an income effect. The income effect makes fewer working hours, while the substitution effect makes workers work more. The total effect is uncertain. But for IDS riders, being a game of orders-grabbing, the substitution effect of salary is greater than the income effect.

Our study explores the variable's role and the mediation path by applying Muller's Chain Mediating Effect Model with moderating variables.

H ij represents safety and health, and G ij represents the moderating variables of salary and working hours 8 The data on salary comes from the 7-income range of monthly income in the questionnaire, and the data on working hours come from 4-time ranges in the questionnaire.

M p (p =1-3)is the mediating variable: work stress M 1 includes 5 dimensions, Calculate the mean value of 5 dimensions as the variable: “24 h rest/month, labour contract, social security, perception of competitive stress, and poor comments,” which is answered in four grades. Job satisfaction M 2 is investigated from six dimensions. The mean value is calculated in the same way. Six dimensions are “organisation satisfaction, management satisfaction, job reward satisfaction, working atmosphere satisfaction, the job itself satisfaction, and human resource management satisfaction,” which are answered in five levels of satisfaction. The chain mediating variableM 3 is expressed by “job stress * job satisfaction.”

Mediating Effects Test

To analyze the mediating effect neatly, the moderating effect is not considered.

According to the mediating effect results in Table 3 , the front-end effect of Road 1 is significant, and the back-end effect of the Road 1 mediation path is also very significant. It is not difficult to find that job pressure is the leading mediating variable leading to safety and health. Hypothesis 3 is verified job pressure has a mediating effect.

Table 3 . Estimation results of chain mediating effect.

Moderating Effect Test

Data is centralised before the two variables G ij are used in moderation. Hierarchical Regression is carried out for the two generated interactive variables. The linear regression estimation results of the model with moderating variables are shown in Table 4 .

Table 4 . Estimation results of moderating effect.

According to the estimation results of the moderating effect in Table 4 , the impact of salary on labour intensity is not significant, and the extension of working hours has a positive effect on labour intensity. The significance test of multiplication of salary and labour intensity is passed at 10%. Though the moderating effect of salary on labour intensity is determined by the income effect and the substitution effect, the total effect is positive. Facing the temptation of salary, IDS riders will take the initiative to grab more orders to earn more money. In reality, platform work has only changed mechanisms through which companies can exercise control over labour and evade their employer obligations. The freedom of food delivery platform workers is essentially an “illusory freedom” ( 49 ).

As a result of an increase in labour intensity, they will be overworked, which is no benefit to their health. The multiplication of working hours and the labour intensity is tested at the significance of 1%. It shows that the IDS riders' labour intensity increases with the extension of working hours, and the resulting job pressure will affect their health, and even their safety. We verified that both salary and working hours have a moderating effect on labour intensity, and the effect of working hours is greater, so Hypothesis 2 is tested.

We can see the health mediating effect of IDS riders in Figure 1 . Overall, in the mediating effect, job pressure has not only a strong impact on the front-end effect but also a strong mediation path in the back-end effect. Job satisfaction is a weak mediation path in both the front-end effect and the back-end effect. The mediating effect of job pressure is 0.1562 (β 1 -β 3 = 0.4655–0.3093). The change in salary causes the change in working hours, which leads to the change in labour intensity and job pressure. The moderating effect of salary is 0.1537 and the moderating effect of working hours is 0.3124. Working hours increase labour intensity and then affect safety and health through job pressure. Labour intensity has a positive impact on safety and health. The total effect of labour intensity on safety and health is 0.4655.

Figure 1 . Impact path of the labour intensity on safety and health.

The index of job pressure mainly includes five dimensions: “complete rest days per week, signing of the labour contract, social security participation, perception of competitive pressure, and perception of dealing with bad comments.” Take the mean value as the working pressure variable and evaluate it with 4 grades of “very small, small, general, large, or very large.”

The index of job satisfaction is formed by a six-factor analysis of “organisation satisfaction, management satisfaction, job reward satisfaction, working atmosphere satisfaction, the job itself satisfaction, and human resource management satisfaction.” Five grades are formed by Likert five subscale methods: “very dissatisfied, relatively dissatisfied, average, relatively satisfied, and very satisfied.”

The regression coefficient of labour intensity is 0.0076, which can cause work pressure. Labour intensity can directly lead to the decline of physical health and make IDS riders enter a state of overwork. For other job characteristics, it appears that workers in the app-enabled gigs are ordinarily doing standardised tasks repeatedly over a period of time, the structured algorithmic management techniques offer workers a high level of autonomy ( 50 ). Unstable employment tends to negatively affect health status. As it causes psychological and physical health risks, such as low mental health, dissatisfaction with physical health, anxiety, or high blood pressure. Platforms have added “digital reputation mechanisms” or “evaluating and rewarding mechanisms.” Their real motivation is to let IDS riders grab orders and compete to increase labour intensity.

The regression coefficient of working hours is 0.3124, which has the greatest impact on labour intensity. The survey found that 14.2% of IDS riders worked more than 12 h. In European countries, around 80% of platform workers declare platform work to be a secondary or tertiary source of income ( 51 , 52 ). Even when platform work is the main source of income, the number of working hours is often low. Platform workers typically work low numbers of hours per week in European countries. A positive association with the number of hours worked per week was found for traffic penalties (or fines) ( 53 ). Working for a long time not only affects the health of IDS riders but also endangers their life safety.

The influence of salary is two-way, with both income effect and substitution effect. This study found that the income effect of IDS riders is still dominant in China. Although some studies have used evidence to show that piecework wage in a casual economy increases health ( 54 ). But at the same time, some studies have shown that performance-based pay is harmful to health. Vietnamese garment factories and American shoe factories that implement performance-based pay have had poor physical conditions and emotional health ( 55 ). The present study corroborates the UK findings for US workers, with poorer health outcomes reported for piece-rate workers than for salaried workers ( 56 ). Giggers often earn below minimum wage without any entitlements to social benefits ( 57 – 62 ), and prices are being raised or decreased by an algorithm depending on demand ( 63 ). Poor health outcomes linked to performance and piece-rate might further erode a company's bottom line.

Under current law, it is impossible for all the IDS riders to pay workers' compensation insurance for platform workers. Therefore, it is difficult for platform workers to manage chronic diseases, work-related diseases, and occupational diseases due to difficulties in health examination and health care.

Limitations and Future Research Directions

First, our study results are limited to a sample of IDS employees currently working in two big cities in China, which has a more formal employment setting as reflected by the large proportion of IDS workers in the country. China has a vast territory and IDS business is generally developing, IDS in smaller and medium-sized cities should have more characteristic problems to be resolved. As such, our results should be generalised with caution to broader contexts.

Second, there is no heterogeneity analysis for IDS riders in this paper. After all, few IDS riders are female. Only 2.5% of the female respondents in our questionnaire, the analysis of the difference between male and female groups can not reflect the truth. Another reason is that women may be slightly poorer than men in security and cycling technology. They are not as fast as men in grabbing orders, and their orders are less than men. So, their labour intensity may be weaker than that of men, and the security of female IDS riders is relatively higher.

Third, the research deficiency is that the variation is not examined when an order was completed in unit time. The algorithm of time compression has become a trick to improve labour intensity in the AI system. After comparing the labour intensity between a normal speed and a limited speed, we may portray the mechanism of labour intensity to improve. Future research will collect the average speed in an order to make up for this deficiency.

Theoretical Contributions

This study makes two key contributions to the knowledge base around the IDS riders. First, based on the life cycle theory of labour supply decision-making, a two-stage decision-making analysis is carried out on the consciousness of labour intensity. Work and safety and health are in two periods for decision-making, so this decision-making view should contribute to the progress of the traditional employment theory which is the basis of stable employment and high-quality employment.

Second, this study represents a pioneering attempt to analyse the theoretical explanation of labour control. The work of IDS is seemingly free, while it is actually a non-free labour process controlled by the platform. This study explains the deep reason why IDS appears seemingly free, but actually has no freedom from the comparison of substitution effect and income effect. The work caused by the substitution effect will make IDS riders lose their freedom as long as they start to work. IDS riders only have the freedom to choose to work or not, and never to work.

Practical Implications

This study found that the job pressure comes from the labour intensity. Different from the traditional method, labour intensity comes from the work overweight by the management in traditional employment. While IDS riders increase their labour intensity without much prompting. They extend their working hours just for the temptation of salary, resulting in overwork. They lose their freedom to work in the game in order-grabbing which is seemingly free. Under the pressure of assessment, IDS riders deliver an order in a shorter and shorter time. Though IDS riders want to earn quick money under the order reward mechanism, the company should rely on the obligation specification following the labour law to cultivate employees' professional commitment, rather than only on the monetary benefits.

More and more orders to deliver, less and fewer rights to choose. The delivery sequence and riding route are locked and monitored by the platform. They even have no autonomy to deal with physical discomfort, accidents, rainstorms, and other special work environments. The labour intensity of IDS riders is increasing with their overwork, and so does the job pressure which is caused by the assessment. Both of them are not beneficial to IDS riders. To reduce the negative economic losses caused by IDS riders' safety and health issues, the company should formulate a working algorithm within a reasonable labour intensity.

In terms of their behaviour, it is very dangerous to watch their mobile phones while their riding. In particular, keep safety riding in an extreme work environment. In addition to providing a “health bag” and other necessary equipment, we should pay more attention to the IDS riders' rights. They should also be given the right to keep safe and healthy.

In this paper, an intertemporal utility model is established to measure the labour intensity of IDS riders. An IV-Logit Model is used to investigate the impact of the change in labour intensity on IDS riders' safety and health combined with the survey data. Then the mediation path of job pressure is analysed and explored. The following conclusions and understandings are obtained:

(1) Hypothesis 1 is supported clearly by regression. The labour intensity has a positive impact on safety and health. The labour intensity increases, and the risk index of IDS riders' safety and health increases.

(2) Salary level and working hours have a moderating effect on labour intensity, so Hypothesis 2 is tested to be true. To the two moderating variables, the moderating effect of working hours is greater, and the moderating effect of salary is mainly determined by the total effect between the income effect and the substitution effect. As for IDS riders, their substitution effect is greater than their income effect.

(3) Predicted paths are not completely supported in Hypothesis 3. Job satisfaction is not effectively supported, while job pressure is the dominant mediation in the mediation paths. The increase in job pressure has a significant positive impact on the level of overwork in safety and health.

Piece rate pay designed to promote efficiency may have important negative implications for worker health, especially for the most vulnerable members of the US workforce ( 64 ), such as women, minorities, and low-income workers. Given the growing popularity of performance-based pay in the gig economy, more research is needed to determine if the practise is justified from a public health perspective ( 65 ). McDowell et al. suggested that vulnerable jobs include job-related insecurity, lack of legal rights and labour rights, lower salary levels, and higher occupational health risks ( 66 ). The work design in the IDS platform company is from the algorithms ( 67 ). Undeniably, the algorithms could not provide high-quality employment for IDS riders. IDS riders are more vulnerable.

The IDS riders should be put in a reasonable salary and working hours system to keep healthy. As no basic salary guarantee and appropriate working hours were designed in the IDS platform economy, it would be unrealistic that IDS riders reduced labour intensity.

It is never the normal way to improve the salary depends on grabbing more, riding faster. Undoubtedly, active overwork under the high pressure of work and life should damage their health. In particular, it is very dangerous for IDS riders being busy watching or grabbing orders while they are riding, especially in the mood of fatigue. The platform economy is recommodifying labour. We need to democratise it ( 68 ).

The findings above have obvious reference value for promoting the development of high-quality employment in China. Firstly, nearly 3 million workers are employed, and the employment group of IDS riders is expanding. Only IDS riders are safe and healthy, and the structure of whole social employment will be healthy. Secondly, IDS riders are controlled by the impersonal platform algorithm systems. In the current new economic policies, we should be more vigilant about labour intensity to be improved by the economic effects of algorithms and artificial intelligence technology. Finally, to study the safety and health of IDS riders in economic theory, an Intertemporal Utility Model was constructed using C-D Function. With the introduction of the intertemporal concept, we overcome the shortcomings of previous research on IDS riders in economic theory. The intertemporal concept can prevent us from studying the shortsighted behaviour of IDS riders.

Key evidence has surfaced since Adam Smith's early conjecture to support his theory of the negative health impacts. Taylorism has been largely criticised for turning workers into an automaton or machines who fail to find meaning in their work.

To cope with the new occupational health and safety issues, we need to establish new concepts of “decent work” and standardise regulations, which are responsible for health and safety ( 69 ). With the vigorous development of the platform economy, the country should pay more attention to vulnerable employees, as well as high-quality employment.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics Statement

Ethical review and approval was not required for the animal study because IDS riders' employment qualification meets the constraints of labor law. In line with the legal age of 18, there are no inhumane moral problems such as employing child labor.

Author Contributions

TC is responsible for research ideas and overall research work. DT conducts the investigation for data. PD corrects the grammatical errors in the article. EZ and JH sort out the data and materials. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

We thank the Graduate Teaching Reform Project “Prevention and Handling of Labor Disputes in China's First Labor Court” and the program “Early Warning of Labor Relations in the New Stage: prevention based on sudden public crisis” (31512211014) for giving financial support.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support of the Basic Scientific Research Project of the Chinese Academy of Labor and Social Security (ky-2020-jk006): the research on the unemployment insurance policy to promote a fuller and better quality of employment. We would like to thank the IDS riders under investigation for data.

1. ^ In 2014, the State Council issued the criteria for the division of city size, which divides cities into categories based on the permanent resident population in urban areas.

Cities with a permanent resident population of more than 5 million and less than 10 million are megacities, and cities with a permanent resident population of more than 10 million are megacities.

According to the data of the seventh national census, the total population of Beijing in 2021 is 21893095. By the end of 2021, Wuhan had a permanent resident population of 13.6489 million, which is less than the threshold of 50000 super cities.

2. ^ Two factor analyses were conducted, and six characteristic factors were extracted for the first time in 1970. The second analysis was attempted in 1985. The second analysis was a factor analysis of 81 items. The data used in factor analysis are the data of 11897 employees in the motor equipment manufacturing industry, including 8888 men in 91 workplaces and 3009 women in 32 workplaces.

3. ^ The standard is generally accepted by Chinese scholars. Such as Huang et al. ( 46 – 48 ).

4. ^ 8 departments: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Transport, Emergency Management Department, General Administration of Market Supervision, State Medical Insurance Bureau, Supreme People's Court and All China Federation of Trade Unions.

5. ^ The calculation formula of labor intensity index is as follows: I = 3T + 7M. Where: I - labor intensity index; T - labor time rate = net labor time in working days (minutes) / total working hours in working days (minutes) (%); M-8 hour working daily energy metabolism rate (kJ / min · m2); 3 - calculation coefficient of labor time rate; 7 - calculation coefficient of energy metabolic rate.

6. ^ 0-6 represents the labor intensity of different “Daily Distance ”(6 levels is divided in this paper).

7. ^ It is a constant greater than 0 because IDS riders are homogeneous, and the parameters have no difference in different IDS riders.

8. ^ As the moderating variable of salary and working hours, G ij will be carried out hierarchically during regression.

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Keywords: IDS riders, labour intensity, safety and health, instrumental variables, mediating effect, moderating effect

Citation: Chen TX, Tian DZ, Deng PH, Zhou E and Huang JJ (2022) Study on Instant Delivery Service Riders' Safety and Health by the Effects of Labour Intensity in China: A Mediation Analysis. Front. Public Health 10:907474. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.907474

Received: 29 March 2022; Accepted: 06 May 2022; Published: 23 June 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Chen, Tian, Deng, Zhou and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Dazhou Tian, tiandazhou@163.com

† ORCID: Tianxue Chen orcid.org/0000-0002-5332-5357 Peihua Deng orcid.org/0000-0001-8668-2951

‡ These authors have contributed equally to this study

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

• Open access
• Published: 16 July 2022

Investigating experiences of frequent online food delivery service use: a qualitative study in UK adults

• Matthew Keeble 1 ,
• Jean Adams 1 &
• Thomas Burgoine 1  

BMC Public Health volume  22 , Article number:  1365 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Food prepared out-of-home is typically energy-dense and nutrient-poor. This food can be purchased from multiple types of retailer, including restaurants and takeaway food outlets. Using online food delivery services to purchase food prepared out-of-home is increasing in popularity. This may lead to more frequent unhealthy food consumption, which is positively associated with poor diet and living with obesity. Understanding possible reasons for using online food delivery services might contribute to the development of future public health interventions, if deemed necessary. This knowledge would be best obtained by engaging with individuals who use online food delivery services as part of established routines. Therefore, we aimed to investigate customer experiences of using online food delivery services to understand their reasons for using them, including any advantages and drawbacks.

Methods and results

In 2020, we conducted telephone interviews with 22 adults living in the UK who had used online food delivery services on at least a monthly basis over the previous year. Through codebook thematic analysis, we generated five themes: ‘The importance of takeaway food’, ‘Less effort for more convenience’, ‘Saving money and reallocating time’, ‘Online food delivery service normalisation’ and ‘Maintained home food practices’. Two concepts were overarching throughout: ‘Place. Time. Situation.’ and ‘Perceived advantages outweigh recognised drawbacks’.

After considering each of the accessible food purchasing options within the context of their location and the time of day, participants typically selected online food delivery services. Participants reported that they did not use online food delivery services to purchase healthy food. Participants considered online food delivery service use to be a normal practice that involves little effort due to optimised purchasing processes. As a result, these services were seen to offer convenient access to food aligned with sociocultural expectations. Participants reported that this convenience was often an advantage but could be a drawback. Although participants were price-sensitive, they were willing to pay delivery fees for the opportunity to complete tasks whilst waiting for delivery. Furthermore, participants valued price-promotions and concluded that receiving them justified their online food delivery service use. Despite takeaway food consumption, participants considered home cooking to be irreplaceable.

Conclusions

Future public health interventions might seek to increase the healthiness of food available online whilst maintaining sociocultural values. Extending restrictions adopted in other food environments to online food delivery services could also be explored.

Peer Review reports

Purchasing food that is prepared out-of-home and served ready-to-consume is prevalent across the world [ 1 ]. The neighbourhood food environment includes all physically accessible food outlets where individuals can purchase and consume foods, including food prepared out-of-home (often referred to as ‘takeaway food’) [ 2 ]. An increased number of outlets selling this food in the neighbourhood food environment may have contributed to normalising its consumption [ 3 ]. Purchasing formats represent ways to buy takeaway food. Although the opportunity to purchase this food was once limited to visiting food outlets in person or placing orders directly with food outlets by phone, additional purchasing formats such as online food delivery services now exist [ 4 ]. Unlike physically accessing outlets in the neighbourhood food environment or contacting outlets by telephone before collection or delivery, online food delivery services exist within a digital food environment. On a single online platform, customers receive aggregated information about food outlets that will deliver to them based on their location. Customers then select a food outlet, and place and pay for their order. Orders are forwarded to food outlets where meals are prepared before being delivered to customers [ 5 ]. Online food delivery services have been available in the UK since around 2006. However, widespread internet and smartphone access has increased their use [ 6 ], with global online food delivery service revenue estimated at £2.9 billion in 2021 [ 7 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated and perpetuated market development [ 8 ].

Food sold by takeaway food outlets, and therefore available online, is typically nutrient-poor and served in portion sizes that exceed public health recommendations for energy content [ 9 , 10 ]. More frequent takeaway food consumption has been associated with poorer diet quality and elevated bodyweight over time [ 11 ]. Although it is currently unclear, using online food delivery services might lead to more frequent and higher overall takeaway food consumption. In turn, this could lead to increased risk of elevated bodyweight and associated comorbidities. Since an estimated 67% of men and 60% of women in the UK were already considered overweight or obese in 2019 [ 12 ], the possibility that using online food delivery services increases overall takeaway food consumption is a major public health concern, as recognised by the World Health Organization [ 4 , 13 , 14 ].

With respect to the neighbourhood food environment, food outlet accessibility (number) and proximity (distance to nearest), food availability (presence of variety), and attitudinal dimensions (acceptability) contribute to takeaway food purchasing practices [ 15 ]. Each of these domains apply to takeaway food access through online food delivery services. In 2019, the number of food outlets accessible through the leading online food delivery service in the UK ( Just Eat ) was 50% greater in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas [ 16 ]. Furthermore, adults living in the UK with the highest number of food outlets accessible online had greater odds of any online delivery service use in the previous week compared to those with the lowest number [ 17 ]. To our knowledge, however, attitudinal dimensions of online food delivery service use have not been investigated in the public health literature. Given the complexity of takeaway food purchasing practices, there are likely to be unique and specific reasons for using online food delivery services. Understanding these reasons from the perspective of customers could contribute to more informed public health decision-making and intervention, which is important since public health interventions that include online food delivery services may be increasingly necessary as their growth in popularity continues worldwide [ 13 , 18 ].

In our study, we investigated experiences of using online food delivery services from the perspective of adults living in the UK who use them frequently. We aimed to understand their reasons for using these services, the possible advantages and drawbacks of doing so, and how they coexist with other food-related practices.

Between June and August 2020, we used semi-structured telephone interviews to study experiences of using online food delivery services from the perspective of adults living in the UK. We used the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist to guide the development and reporting of our study [ 19 ].

The University of Cambridge School of the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee provided ethical approval (Reference: 19/220).

Methodological orientation

We used a qualitative description methodological orientation to investigate our study aims. Qualitative description has been framed as less interpretative than other approaches [ 20 ]. However, it is theoretically and epistemologically flexible and can facilitate a rich description of perspectives [ 21 ], which matched our study aims.

Participants and recruitment

We used convenience sampling to recruit adults that used online food delivery services frequently. For the purpose of our study, we defined frequent customers as those who had used online food delivery services on at least a monthly basis over the previous year. We believed this level of use would make participants well-positioned to provide their experiences of using this purchasing format within established takeaway food purchasing practices. We also based participant recruitment on reported sociodemographic characteristics of online food delivery service customers [ 22 , 23 ]. As data collection progressed, we additionally considered level of education so that our sample included frequent customers who were less highly educated (see Table 1 ).

We used two social media platforms (Twitter and Reddit) to recruit participants. Participant recruitment through social media platforms can be fast and efficient [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. If targeted advertising is not used (as in our study), participant recruitment in this way is also typically free. In our study, participant recruitment through social media was particularly appropriate, given that our aims were related to understanding experiences of using a digital purchasing format. Twitter users can publish and re-publish information, images, videos, and links to external sites. Reddit users can publish information, images and videos, and discuss topics within focused forums known as ‘Subreddits’. For Twitter, the primary researcher (MK) published recruitment materials using his personal account and relied on existing connections to re-publish them. For Reddit, MK created an alias account (he did not have a personal account at the time of our fieldwork) and published recruitment materials in Subreddits for cities in the UK with large populations according to the 2011 UK census, those related to online food delivery services, and those that discuss topics relevant to the UK [ 27 ]. See Additional file 1 (Box A1) for a complete list of Subreddits.

Recruitment materials asked interested individuals to contact MK by email. When contacted, MK responded by email with screening questions that asked about self-reported frequency of online food delivery service use over the past year, age, and level of education. When eligibility was confirmed, MK provided information about the study by email. This information included the study aims, details about researchers involved, the offer of a £20.00 electronic high street shopping voucher, and a formal invitation to participate. After five business days with no response to the invitation, MK sent a further email. After another five business days, we classified individuals that did not respond as ‘non-respondents’.

Data collection

Before data collection.

Before starting data collection, we planned to complete a maximum of 25 interviews. We did not target data saturation. Food purchasing and consumption are highly individual and influenced by previous experiences, cultural backgrounds, and preferences [ 28 ]. Therefore, we felt that it would be difficult to conclude data saturation was achieved based on the traditional conceptualisation of no new information being reported by participants [ 29 , 30 ]. Instead, we prioritised conceptual depth and information strength. This approach was aligned with the qualitative description methodological orientation of our study [ 30 ].

We wanted to investigate experiences of using online food delivery services from before the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were no restrictions on accessing multiple purchasing formats or consuming food on the premises. Therefore, we pre-specified that we would stop data collection if it became difficult for participants to refer to the time before March 2020, which is when pandemic related travel and food outlet access restrictions were first introduced in the UK. MK piloted an initial protocol with an eligible individual to confirm this would be possible, and made amendments based on their feedback.

Before starting data collection, MK reflected on his position as a population health researcher, and his previous training and experience in qualitative research [ 31 ]. MK also reflected on his own takeaway food consumption and previous use of online food delivery services. As of June 2020, MK consumed takeaway food infrequently and had previously placed one order with an online food delivery service. Although he was not a frequent customer according to our classification, MK was familiar with online food delivery services operating in the UK. MK concluded that despite having a broad understanding about why online food delivery services might be used, he could not use his own experiences to provide detailed reasons for favouring this purchasing format over alternative options.

Throughout data collection

MK completed one-off semi-structured telephone interviews with participants at a convenient time selected by them. At the start of the interview process, MK confirmed the rationale for the study, gave participants the opportunity to ask clarifying questions and asked them to provide verbal consent. MK used a topic guide that was developed based on a priori knowledge, pilot interview feedback and previous research related to takeaway food and online food delivery services [ 22 , 32 , 33 ]. MK amended the topic guide as data collection progressed so that points not initially considered could be discussed in future interviews. Interview questions focused on reasons for using online food delivery services, the perceived advantages and drawbacks of using these services, and how using them coexisted with other purchasing formats and food-related practices (see Box A2 in Additional file 1 for the final topic guide).

Although MK completed interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic, he did not ask questions related to this period of time, and prompted participants to think about the time before March 2020 so that pre-pandemic experiences could be discussed. MK digitally recorded interview audio and made field notes to track points for discussion within the interview.

After data collection

MK immediately reflected on topics discussed, data collection progress, possible links with existing theory, and the ability of participants to think about the time before the COVID-19 pandemic. We used these post-interview reflections to help inform our decision to stop data collection.

Data analysis

A professional company transcribed interview audio verbatim. Whilst listening to the corresponding audio, MK quality assured each transcript and anonymised it. Participants did not review their transcripts.

We used codebook thematic analysis. When using this analytic approach, researchers develop a codebook based on the final topic guide used during data collection and data familiarity that is achieved by reviewing collected data [ 34 , 35 ]. Codebook thematic analysis is aligned with qualitative description methodological orientations as it allows researchers to remain ‘close to the data’ and facilitates an understanding of a topic through the ‘spoken word’ of participants [ 36 ]. In practice, MK developed an initial codebook. MK, JA, and TB then reviewed three transcripts (a 10% sample). This number was manageable and allowed us to discuss a sample of collected data [ 37 ]. After discussion, MK refined the initial codebook to collapse codes that overlapped and to add new codes, which formed the final codebook. MK coded each transcript with the final codebook and reviewed reflections written after each interview. MK then studied the coded data to generate themes that were discussed and finalised with JA and TB. In the context of our study, themes summarise experiences of using online food delivery services from the perspective of participants. After discussion, we also identified that across the themes we generated, there were overarching concepts. For our study, concepts should be seen to offer an overall and consistent structure that capture the common and overlapping elements of each of the generated themes.

MK used NVivo (version 12) to manage the data and facilitate interpretation.

Participant and data overview

MK conducted interviews with 22 frequent online food delivery service customers between June and August 2020. Interviews lasted between 35 and 61 min. There were 12 male participants, 13 participants were aged between 20 and 29 years, and 15 had completed higher education. Since initial adoption, participants had typically used online food delivery services at least fortnightly but as often as daily, and during interviews they consistently referred to using the three most well-established online food delivery services operating in the UK ( Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats ) (see Table 2 ).

During the 19 th interview, conducted in August 2020, it was difficult for the participant to think about the time before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. MK completed three further interviews and then concluded that this difficulty was consistent so stopped data collection. We included data from all interviews in analyses. In addition to those who took part, three interviews were scheduled but cancelled by individuals without providing a reason, and there were nine non-respondents.

Summary and structure

We generated two concepts that were overarching throughout our data: ‘Place. Time. Situation.’ and ‘Perceived advantages outweigh recognised drawbacks’. Within these overarching concepts, we generated five themes: ‘The importance of takeaway food’, ‘Less effort for more convenience’, ‘Saving money and reallocating time’, ‘Online food delivery service normalisation’ and ‘Maintained home food practices’.

In the following sections, we present the findings for each of the overarching concepts, followed by each of the themes. Whilst we discuss each concept and theme in turn, all of their elements were present throughout the data and should be thought of as dynamic, overlapping, and non-hierarchical. For example, participants consistently reflected on features of online food delivery services within the context of their location at a specific time. The conclusion of this process dictated whether a feature was viewed as an advantage or a drawback, and in some cases whether an online food delivery service would be used. We provide examples of this comparison process at the end of our Results (Table 3 ).

Overarching concepts

Place. time. situation..

Participants described how their location and the time of day impacted their ability to access different types of food, including both ‘takeaway’ food and other types of food. When choosing one type of food over another, participants had a multi-factorial thought process that considered their food at home, immediate finances available for food, and the food already eaten that day.

Although data collection focused on takeaway food, participants were clear that this type of food was not always appropriate. As participant 10 (Female: 20–29 years) stated; “ I don’t always just go and get a takeaway; sometimes I’ll walk to the shop, get some food, and make something ”. This view was shared by participant 11 (Male 30–39 years); “ some days I’ll decide that it’s too expensive and I’ll either get something else direct from the restaurant or go to the supermarket and then make food ”.

Nonetheless, participants indicated that purchasing takeaway food was preferable in many situations. For example, when acting spontaneously, when meals had not been planned or if other types of food could not satisfy needs, then takeaway food was appropriate.

“ I think you’re more likely to get delivery and order online when it’s unplanned and you need a pick-me-up, or you need something quick, or you don’t have something and you’re really hungry .” Participant 15 (Male: 40-49 years)

When participants decided to purchase takeaway food, they recognised that their location and the time of day dictated the purchasing formats they could access and potentially use. Access to multiple purchasing formats created a second decision making process. Participants considered the cuisines they wanted, delivery times estimated by online food delivery services versus the time it would take to travel to a food outlet, the weather, their willingness to leave home, and previous experience with accessible food outlets. Alongside these influential factors, choosing one purchasing format over another was often based on what was most convenient.

“ If I’m out and about, on the way home and I’m passing via an outlet, then I’ll pick it up. If I’m at home and just kind of, don’t want to leave the house, then I’ll order via an app or online, just because it’s just convenient .” Participant 2 (Male: 20-29 years)

Despite having apparently decided how they would purchase takeaway food, participants stated that they could change their mind. In the case of online food delivery services, if estimated delivery times failed to meet expectations, this purchasing format would no longer be appropriate and another purchasing format or type of food would be selected. The need for food practices to align with other routines and schedules, and therefore meet expectations, was particularly clear when participant 8 (Female: 40–49 years) described that they used online food delivery services when they could “ relax on a Friday night with the whole evening free ”. However, if they do not have time to select a food outlet, place their order, and then wait for delivery they “ normally just have some spaghetti because that takes 10 min ”.

Participants also referred to online food delivery service marketing in their day-to-day environments, including branded food outlet signs and equipment used by delivery couriers. Participants stated that these things did not always trigger immediate use of online food delivery services, however, their omnipresence reminded them that these services were available.

“ I don’t know if I ever go onto Just Eat after seeing it advertised, I don’t think that’s ever directly led me to do it. But it certainly keeps it in your mind, it’s certainly at the forefront of your mind whenever you think of takeaway .” Participant 11 (Male: 30-39 years)

Perceived advantages outweigh recognised drawbacks

Throughout the data, participants recognised that a single online food delivery service feature could be an advantage or a drawback based on their location and the time of day. This was clearest when participant 2 (Male: 20–29 years) discussed the number of food outlets accessible online compared with those available through other purchasing formats. There was value in having access to “ 20, 30, 40 food outlets ” through online food delivery services as it meant more options, otherwise “ you’re more limited just by the virtue of where you are or what shops you’re passing ”. However, access to a greater number of food outlets was a drawback when it meant that making a selection was difficult. The constant comparison of advantages and drawbacks prompted MK to ask participants why they kept using online food delivery services. There was a consensus that features of these services were unique, mostly advantageous, and outweighed the instances where they were seen as drawbacks. Since participants continued to use online food delivery services to access unique features, this practice appears to be self-reinforcing, even if this means accepting that the same feature can sometimes be a drawback.

Participants favoured online food delivery services in many situations. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that if the overall balance between advantages and drawbacks changed then they would purchase takeaway food in other ways. This solution emphasises that takeaway food can often be accessed in multiple ways dependent on place and time. As it stands, participants anticipated that they would continue to use online food delivery services indefinitely.

“ I can’t see any reason why I would [stop using online food delivery services] , unless something went wrong with Just Eat, you know, the service had a massive problem, but at the moment I can’t see any reason why I would. ” Participant 16 (Male: 20-29 years)

Analytic themes

We now present each of the five themes generated from our analyses. As described, elements of each theme overlapped within the two overarching concepts presented above.

The importance of takeaway food

Participants emphasised that, ultimately, it was “ the food ” that they valued, and that directed them towards using online food delivery services.

“ It’s the food really, that leads me to use [online food delivery service] apps .” Participant 10 (Female: 20-29 years)

Participants reported that they did not use online food delivery services with the intent of purchasing healthy food. Participants told us that they expected takeaway food to be unhealthy and that online food delivery services facilitated access to this food. This perspective influenced the types of food that participants were willing to purchase through online food delivery services. For example, pizza (seen as unhealthy) was appropriate but a salad (seen as healthy) was not. Moreover, participants recognised that if they wanted to consume healthy food, they would most likely cook for themselves.

Participants stated that takeaway food had social, cultural, and behavioural value. For many, purchasing and consuming takeaway food at the end of the working week signified the start of the weekend, which was seen as a time for relaxation and celebration. This tradition was carried forward from childhood, with Friday night referred to as “ takeaway night ”. For participants, using an online food delivery service allowed them to maintain, yet digitalise, traditions.

“ It’s always a weekend thing, besides it being a convenient, really quick way of accessing food that is filling and tastes nice, for me, it marks the end of a work week .” Participant 4 (Female: 30-39 years)

Participants reported that in some situations consuming takeaway food as a group could be a way to socialise. This was especially the case during life transitions such as leaving home to start university.

“ When you move out you’re concentrating on making friends and getting a takeaway was quite an easy way for everyone to sit down around the table and socialise and to have drinks .” Participant 14 (Female: 20-29 years)

Participants did not value online food delivery services to the same extent that they did takeaway food. This perspective reinforced that online food delivery services were primarily used to satisfy takeaway food purchasing needs.

“ If Just Eat as an entity disappeared, or all online takeaways disappeared, I wouldn’t be upset […] it’s a luxury, it makes life easier .” Participant 9 (Male: 30-39 years)

Less effort for more convenience

Participants reported that it took little effort to use online food delivery services because they receive information about all food outlets that will deliver to them on a single platform. Additionally, participants valued the opportunity to save payment details, previous orders, and favourite food outlets for future use. Participants also informed us that they had a greater number of food outlets and a more diverse range of foods and cuisines to choose from compared with other purchasing formats. Due to the number of accessible food outlets, the selection process was not always fast. Nonetheless, participants indicated that online food delivery services make purchasing takeaway food easier and more convenient than other purchasing formats where information is less readily available.

“Y ou’ve got all of the different options laid out in front of you, it’s like one resource where everything is there and you can choose and make a decision, rather than having to pull out leaflets from a drawer or Google different takeaways in the area. It’s all there and it’s all uniform and it’s in one place .” Participant 3 (Female: 20-29 years) “ I can pick through a whole wide selection rather than being limited to the few takeaways down on my road or having to drive somewhere .” Participant 21 (Male: 20-29 years)

Participants emphasised that smartphone applications had been optimised to enhance this experience.

“ I guess it’s the convenience of just being able to open the app on my phone, and not have to go searching for menus or phone numbers and checking if places are open. So yeah, it’s the convenience .” Participant 15 (Male: 40-49 years) “ For me it’s just the ease of going on, clicking what you want, paying for it and it arriving. You don’t have to move, you don’t have to cook, you don’t have to think, it’s just there ready to go, someone’s doing the hard work for you .” Participant 1 (Female: 20-29 years)

However, greater convenience was not always advantageous. Some participants were concerned that convenient and easy access to takeaway food through online food delivery services might have negative consequences for health and other things.

“ It’s quite addictive in the way that it’s just so convenient to order. I’m not making stuff fresh at home, and I’m eating unhealthier .” Participant 21 (Male: 20-29 years) “ I think it adds to a general kind of laziness that is not good for people really. If you actually got up and went for a walk to go and get this food, at least there’s a slightly positive angle there .” Participant 17 (Male: 30-39 years) “ The convenience is not necessarily a positive thing, these apps can be abused because it’s so easy to access foods .” Participant 10 (Female: 20-29 years)

Saving money and reallocating time

Participants were price-sensitive and valued the opportunity to save money. When discussing financial aspects of online food delivery service use, participants referred to special offers they had received by email or through mobile device push notifications. Participants recognised that direct discounts (e.g. 10% off), free items (e.g. free appetizers on orders over £20.00), free delivery (e.g. on orders over £30.00), or time-limited price-promotions (e.g. 40% off all orders for the next three-hours) can justify takeaway food purchasing and online food delivery service use.

“ Getting a takeaway is always a treat, every time I do it I know I shouldn’t but then basically I’m convinced to treat myself, if there’s a discount I’m much more likely to do it because I don’t feel like it’s such a waste of money .” Participant 18 (Male: 20-29 years)

Participants recognised takeaway food as a distinct food category. Nevertheless, they appreciated that that they could use online food delivery services to purchase ‘restaurant food’. Since this food is usually accompanied by a complete dining experience that online food delivery services cannot replicate, participants expected to spend less on this food purchased online compared to when they dined inside a restaurant.

“ Some restaurants deliver through Deliveroo, [places] where you can sit down and have an experience, a dining experience, well that’s different […] you might go there for the dining experience .” Participant 4 (Female: 30-39 years) “ Sometimes I’m deterred from using Uber Eats because I noticed that the restaurants increase their prices if you buy it through them rather than directly […] I don’t want to pay over £10 for a takeaway dish, whereas I would pay that if I ate at a restaurant .” Participant 3 (Female: 20-29 years)

Although participants considered the price of food when deciding which outlet to order from, they traded money for time. Participants compared the time they would spend cooking or travelling to takeaway food outlets with the time taken to place orders through online food delivery services plus the tasks they could complete whilst waiting for meal delivery. Paying a delivery fee to have the opportunity to use time that would not have otherwise been available was acceptable.

“ Yeah, it costs money but at the same time we’re getting more time with the kids, and more time to do other stuff, so it’s absolutely fine as far as I’m concerned .” Participant 9 (Male: 30-39 years)

However, some participants were unsure about the appropriateness of paying to have food delivered as it might be unfair to delivery couriers.

“ I don’t feel like it’s necessarily right to make a delivery driver drive two minutes up the road just because I can’t be bothered to go and collect something that’s not very far away .” Participant 10 (Female: 20-29 years)

Online food delivery service normalisation

Participants had positive previous experiences of using online food delivery services. These experiences influenced future custom and contributed to an overall sense that using this purchasing format was now a normal part of living in a digital society. Some participants referred to watching television online to exemplify this point.

The normalisation of using online food delivery services was particularly evident when MK prompted participants to think about the term ‘takeaway food’. Participants often referred to online food delivery services in the first instance and saw them as synonymous with takeaway food.

“ If you were to say ‘takeaway food’ I’d pull out my phone and I’d open one of the apps and say ‘okay, what should we order’, I wouldn’t say ‘oh let’s go to this road’, or ‘let’s go to that road’, I’d say ‘yeah, let’s look on the app’ .” Participant 21 (Male: 20-29 years)

For participants in our study, using online food delivery services replaced purchasing takeaway food in other ways. This perspective was linked to habitual takeaway food purchasing and sociocultural values. Participants rarely purchased takeaway food outside of set routines (for example only doing so at the weekend) because they did not think it was appropriate. As a result, participants reported that they had a limited number of opportunities to use multiple purchasing formats and thus increase their existing levels of consumption.

Maintained home food practices

Most participants were responsible for cooking at home, enjoyed doing so, and said they were competent at it. Nonetheless, cooking at home required personal effort and being “ lazy ” or “ tired ” or “ having nothing in the cupboards ” was used as a justification for using online food delivery services.

“ I cook, when I’m not using these apps I cook and prepare food for myself , it’s just on the odd occasion I might be feeling tired or want something different […] the rest of the time, I’m quite happy to cook .” Participant 10 (Female: 20-29 years)

Despite the apparent normalisation of using online food delivery services, participants did not feel that they would ever completely eliminate cooking at home. Most participants consumed home cooked food daily, whereas they consumed takeaway food less frequently. This contributed to the view that these two types of food were different. As a result, participants used online food delivery services to purchase food they could not or would not cook at home; for a break from normality, and as a “ cheat ” or “ treat ”.

Summary of findings

To our knowledge, this is the first published study in the public health literature to investigate experiences of using online food delivery services from the perspective of frequent customers.

Participants recognised that their location and the time of day meant that they could often access different types of food through multiple purchasing formats, at the same time. Participants stated that purchasing takeaway food was appropriate in many situations and typically favoured using online food delivery services. For many participants, using these services was now part of routines in their increasingly digital lives. As such, using online food delivery services appeared to be synonymous with takeaway food purchasing. This meant that participants expected food sold online to be unhealthy and that it was inappropriate to purchase healthy food in this manner. Participants consistently thought about how features of online food delivery services were an advantage or a drawback within the context of their location at any given point in time. This was a complex and dynamic thought process. Participants described how the advantages of these services were a strong enough reason to continue use, overcoming drawbacks such as the acknowledged unhealthfulness of takeaway food. Participants reported that using online food delivery services involved little effort as they were provided with food outlet information, menus, and payment facilities on one platform that had been optimised for use. Moreover, although the cost of food was an important consideration for participants, they were willing to pay a fee in exchange for the opportunity to complete tasks whilst waiting for meal preparation and delivery. Finally, using online food delivery services substituted purchasing takeaway food in other ways. Nevertheless, participants reported that cooking at home was a distinct food practice that occurred more frequently and was irreplaceable.

Interpretations

Participants described sociocultural values assigned to takeaway food. These values are proposed to develop from previous experiences [ 38 , 39 ]. For our participants, purchasing takeaway food at the weekend was a traditional routine that celebrated the end of the working week. In the past, this tradition might have meant visiting food outlets in the neighbourhood food environment. However, online food delivery services are now used and favoured. Since participants reported that it was takeaway food in and of itself that was a fundamental reason for seeking out online food delivery services, it is reasonable to conclude that sociocultural values linked to this food exist, and transfer, across purchasing formats.

Food purchasing has been recognised as situational and made in the context of place and time [ 40 , 41 ], with convenience reported as a consistent consideration [ 42 ]. Participants in our study reported that takeaway food was appropriate in many situations and acknowledged that it could often be accessed through multiple purchasing formats. Using one purchasing format over another came after considering multiple factors, including the level of effort required to find a suitable food outlet and place orders. As using online food delivery services took little effort, this purchasing format was often most convenient. However, participants were clear that although their decision had seemingly been made, it could be changed, especially if an online food delivery service feature that was supposedly an advantage became a drawback. For example, if estimated delivery times were too long or delivery fees were too high an alternative option would be considered. Our findings support that the decision about if and how to purchase takeaway food is dynamic and influenced by place and time [ 32 ].

Food access has previously been summarised within the domains of availability, accessibility, affordability, accommodation, and acceptability [ 15 ]. Although Caspi and colleagues described these domains in the context of physical food access, they are applicable to digital food environments. Broadly speaking, our research investigated the ‘acceptability’ of using online food delivery services, and participants made explicit reference to the domains of food ‘accessibility’ and ‘affordability’.

For example, participants told us that one particularly valuable aspect of using online food delivery services was the ability to access a greater number of food outlets compared with other purchasing formats. This finding speaks to our previous research that found a positive association between having the highest number of food outlets accessible online and any use of online food delivery services in the previous week amongst adults living in the UK [ 17 ]. The experiences of using online food delivery services reported in the current study support the possibility that having more food outlet choice contributes to the decision to adopt, and maintain, use of these services rather than necessarily increasing the frequency in which they are used. Other features of online food delivery services, such as having information about each of the accessible food outlets on one platform, likely amplify the perceived benefit of greater food outlet access. Notably, however, access to an increased number of food outlets was not always advantageous. This finding recognises a general awareness about the negative aspects of takeaway food consumption, previously captured from the perspectives of young adults in Australia and Canada [ 38 , 43 ].

Participants also discussed how the price of food influenced their use of online food delivery services. This reflects that food affordability is a fundamental purchasing consideration [ 32 ]. Beyond this, our findings provide insight into actions that food outlets registered to accept orders online might take to attract customers. Given that online food delivery service customers can often select from multiple food outlets at the same time, food outlets might aim to compete with one another by lowering the price of food sold or by introducing price-promotions in an attempt to capitalise on customer demand. Particularly in the case of the latter, participants acknowledged the importance of price-promotions. Previous evidence shows that price-promotions contribute to unhealthy food purchasing practices [ 44 , 45 ]. Access to price-promotions through online food delivery services has not been systematically documented. However, it is possible that their availability is positively associated with the number of food outlets accessible online. Since both price-promotions and the number of food outlets accessible online appear to influence online food delivery service use, the possibility of interaction between them is concerning for overall consumption of food prepared out-of-home, and subsequently, diet quality and health.

In some cases, participants reported that they used online food delivery services because they did not have time to cook at home. A number of tasks, including household chores, work, travel, and childcare, can limit the time available for, and take priority over, home cooking [ 46 ]. Using online food delivery services (and paying associated delivery fees) instead of cooking at home allowed participants in our study to complete non-food related tasks whilst waiting for meal preparation and delivery. Due to sociocultural values and perceived ‘rules’ about how frequently takeaway food 'should' be purchased, participants did not see online food delivery services as a complete replacement for cooking at home. Nevertheless, even partial replacement has implications for diet quality and health, especially since the food available and purchased online was acknowledged as unhealthy by participants in the current study.

Possible implications for public health and future research

Participants reported that using online food delivery services had mostly substituted, not supplemented, their use of other purchasing formats. Given the perspectives of participants in our study, an increasing number of food outlets could be registering to accept orders online to supply an apparent customer demand. Further research is required to understand the extent to which customer demand is driven by food outlet accessibility, and vice versa.

Participants in our study reported that despite using online food delivery services frequently, their overall takeaway food consumption had remained the same. We do not yet know if this perception would be reflected in objective assessment of takeaway food consumption. Further research that quantifies the use of multiple purchasing formats and takeaway food consumption over time is required to understand the potential public health implications as a result of using online food delivery services. Although evidence from Australia suggests that food sold through online food delivery services tends to be energy-dense and nutrient-poor [ 47 ], this has not been established in the UK, to our knowledge. Nor does it necessarily reflect the balance of what food is purchased. Objective assessment of the nutritional quality of foods available, and purchased, through online food delivery services in the UK could be the focus of future research. This evidence will help to better understand the extent to which public health concern is warranted.

With a few exceptions, food sold through online food delivery services is prepared in food outlets that are also physically accessible in the neighbourhood food environment [ 13 ]. From a public health perspective, this reinforces the intrinsic link between neighbourhood and digital food environments [ 48 ]. Therefore, public health interventions adopted in the neighbourhood food environment may also influence the digital food environment. For example, urban planning policies have been adopted to prevent new takeaway food outlets from opening in neighbourhoods [ 49 ]. By extension, this stops new food outlets from becoming accessible online. Other public health interventions that operate synergistically between physical and digital food environments might be increasingly required in the future. It will also be vital for any future interventions to consider how the geographical coverage of online food delivery services expands neighbourhood food outlet access [ 50 ], potentially undermining the effectiveness of interventions adopted in the neighbourhood food environment. Doing so would help address concerns that these services increase access to food prepared out-of-home [ 4 , 13 ]. Interventions of this nature could be particularly important in more deprived areas that have the highest number of accessible food outlets across multiple purchasing formats [ 16 , 51 ].

Participants recognised that online food delivery services provide access to takeaway food that was associated with being unhealthy. Participants were aware that they could purchase healthy food through online food delivery services, but this did not mean that they would . From a public health perspective, this finding indicates that the success of interventions intended to promote healthier takeaway food purchasing through online food delivery services might be limited by existing sociocultural values if they are not taken into consideration. A possible way to navigate this would be to improve the nutritional quality of food available online without necessarily making any changes salient. Interventions of this nature include healthier frying practices and reduced food packaging size [ 52 , 53 ]. Although these interventions were acceptable and feasible when implemented inside takeaway food outlets [ 54 ], further investigation is required to understand the extent to which they are appropriate in the context of online food delivery services. Changing the types of food available to purchase through online food delivery services could also lead to improved food access for those with limited kitchen facilities at home or limited mobility.

Public health interventions intended specifically for online food delivery services could also be developed. Potential approaches include preferential placement of healthy menu items, introducing calorie labelling and offering healthier food swaps. Embedding these approaches within existing online food delivery service infrastructures would allow implementation to be uniform [ 55 ], and their implementation could be optimised to enhance customer awareness and interaction. The potential success of approaches of this nature requires exploration. Nevertheless, in February 2022, the UK Behavioural Insights Team (formerly of the UK Government) published a protocol to investigate approaches to promoting the purchase of lower energy density foods through a simulated online food delivery service platform [ 56 ].

Price-promotions influenced and justified the use of online food delivery services. Legislation to restrict the use of volume-based price-promotions (e.g. buy-one-get-one-free, 50% extra free) on less healthy pre-packaged food sold both in-store and online were due to be introduced in England in October 2022 [ 57 ]. However, the introduction of this legislation has now been delayed. Although hot food served ready-to-consume was due to be excluded, given what is known about the impact of price-promotions on purchasing other food [ 58 ], and our participants’ description of the importance of price-promotions on their purchasing practices, extension of these restrictions to hot food served ready-to-consume might be warranted. Understanding how price-promotions influence food purchased from online food delivery services represents a first step to understand the need for future regulation.

Limitations

We recruited participants through two social media platforms, which means that our study sample was formed from a subset of all social media users. However, online recruitment was appropriate since we wanted to understand experiences of using a digital purchasing format. Moreover, the participants we recruited were mostly highly educated, potentially reflecting reported online food delivery service use amongst this socioeconomic group [ 22 , 23 ]. After 12 telephone interviews we acknowledged this and adjusted our recruitment strategy to ensure a more balanced sample with respect to level of education. Nevertheless, future research should explore the perspectives of frequent online food delivery service customers with lower levels of education, since it is possible that they have different reasons for using these services. Although we did not recruit infrequent online food delivery service customers or non-customers, they would not have been well-positioned to help us investigate our study aims. However, since we have described experiences of using online food delivery services from the perspective of frequent customers, future work should seek to understand perspectives of non-customers, customers who use them less frequently, and customers who use them for specific reasons.

As the first study in the public health literature to investigate frequent customer experiences of using online food delivery services, we chose a descriptive methodological orientation. Our descriptive approach meant that we did not investigate the underlying meaning of the language used by participants, however, this was not aligned with our aims. Furthermore, our descriptive methodological orientation allowed us to use codebook thematic analysis and include multiple researchers in analysis. Coding a 10% sample of interviews transcripts and discussing analytic themes would have been less appropriate with reflexive approaches to thematic analysis [ 34 , 35 , 59 ], but assisted with our interpretations.

We conducted fieldwork during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, which might have altered the recent experiences of online food delivery service use and participant perspectives. However, MK asked participants to think about the time before the COVID-19 pandemic and reflected on their ability to do so. This reflexivity is in line with established practices regarding qualitative rigour [ 20 , 60 ], and allowed us to determine when it would be most appropriate to stop fieldwork. Nonetheless, we acknowledge the possibility that food-related practices have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, it is possible that online food delivery services are now used for different reasons, both initially and over time, and by individuals with different sociodemographic characteristics than those in our study.

We used telephone interviews with frequent online food delivery service customers to investigate experiences of using this purchasing format. We found that the context of place and time influenced if and how takeaway food would be purchased. Online food delivery services were often seen as most appropriate. In part, this was due to the opportunity to access advantages not available through other purchasing formats, such as efficient and convenient ordering processes that had been optimised for customers. Fundamentally, however, online food delivery services provide access to takeaway food, which despite being acknowledged as unhealthy, has strong sociocultural value. There was a consistent awareness that some advantages of online food delivery services may also be drawbacks. Despite this, the drawbacks were not sufficiently negative to stop current or future online food delivery service use. Finally, price-promotions justified online food delivery service use and made this practice appealing. Public health interventions that seek to promote healthier food purchasing through online food delivery services may be increasingly warranted in the future. Approaches might include increasing the healthiness of the food available whilst maintaining sociocultural values and expectations, and extending restrictions on price-promotions to hot food prepared out-of-home.

Availability of data and materials

Processed and anonymised qualitative data from this study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Additional raw data related to this publication cannot be openly released; the raw data contains interview audio containing identifiable information.

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Matthew Keeble was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research (SPHR) [grant number PD_SPH_2015]. This work was supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number MC_UU_00006/7]. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of any of the above named funders. The funders had no role in the design of the study, or collection, analysis and interpretation of the data, or in writing the manuscript. For the purpose of open access. the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising.

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Keeble, M., Adams, J. & Burgoine, T. Investigating experiences of frequent online food delivery service use: a qualitative study in UK adults. BMC Public Health 22 , 1365 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13721-9

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ABRAHAM, DIONELYN R.

In this ethnographic study, the researchers delved into the daily lives of street food vendors of Serbisyong Bayan Park Batasan Hills, Quezon City focusing on their routine, thoughts, and emotions. Through participant observation and in-depth interviews with five adult street vendors aged 24-60 years old. The study aims to know the routine, challenges, coping mechanisms, and overall profile in terms of their behavior, thoughts, emotions, and socialization. Street food vendors face challenges like inconsistent income, weather conditions, limited resources, and regulatory hurdles. They use coping mechanisms like smoking, companionship, and phone-watching to manage stress. These dedicated, customer-focused individuals work tirelessly to earn their livelihood and satisfy customers. They excel at providing exceptional customer service and building strong relationships. Their behavioral profile emphasizes resilience, perseverance, and interpersonal skills. They balance trade demands with a genuine connection with their work and community.

International journal of academic research in business & social sciences

Askiah Jamaluddin

Capital & Class

Gomer Betancor

The food delivery app business has grown in recent years, with an increasing number of customers and workers on these platforms. Food delivery apps are also an iconic example of the increasing precarity of working conditions. Delivery app workers have mobilised to demand greater stability and regulation, with one of their main demands being to switch from their current status as selfemployed workers to being employees of these companies. However, in Spain, those who want to remain self-employed have also mobilised, demanding better wages and improved conditions from the platforms. In this article, we focus on the mobilisation of delivery workers in Spain, exploring the characteristics of the main actors involved and the evolution and current situation of the conflict.

Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal

Psychology and Education , Evangelista, Charles Brixter , Ancheta, Galilee Jordan C. , Blanco, Jayra A. , Balading, Jericho , Andrea Mae Santiago

Delivery riders became frontline workers who assisted everyone in getting their daily supplies. They transported them to their destinations when the pandemic started, and everyone had to stay home to stop the COVID-19 virus from spreading. Thus, this study explores the experiences, challenges, and coping mechanisms of 15 Female Delivery Riders in Bulacan, Philippines. The study employed Heideggerian Phenomenology and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Further, the following themes arise: (1) The Realist, (2) The Accommodated, (3) The Vulnerable, and (4) The Determined. These themes highlighted the experiences and challenges faced by the participants. Moreover, it is highly suggested that female employees should be given preferential assistance given their physical capabilities and role in the family. Thus, local government units should provide an alternative source of income that will allow them to have quality time with their family, especially their children.

Ijaems Journal

Food delivery services have influenced consumers' eating patterns because of the rise in consumer internet activity (Flores, 2020). They now have the appropriate and effective means of making food purchases whenever and wherever they like. The birth of online food delivery services applications was prompted by the development of new technologies and the COVID-19 outbreak, which forced food service providers to produce creative procedures and platforms to reduce human interaction when ordering and consuming meals. The online food delivery services (OFDS) made its significant mark during the occurrence of the global pandemic, it was considered the foremost savior of the food industry. OFDS can be defined as any food delivery transaction with monetary value that is done through mobile devices (Ngai, 2007). In connection with the current situation, this study investigated the performance of OFDS to find the relevant factors affecting online food delivery service time and efficiency that have direct effect on the business opportunities. Based on the findings of the study, most online food delivery service users are aged from 23 to 31 years old. Females are more likely to use OFDS platforms when ordering food compared with males. In terms of the civil status, single persons are more likely to use OFDS applications than married ones. Three factors were found to have significant relationship with the consumer's level of satisfaction and affecting the performance of the OFDS in Cabanatuan City. These factors were ease of use, delivery, and affordability of the foods.

Journal of University of Shanghai for Science and Technology

Manpreet Singh Bajwa

The purpose of this thesis is to build an online food ordering application named “FOODIE”. Our research also includes the “satisfaction of consumers by using online food services”. It will deal with consumer behavior & helps to analyze their perceptions & will also help us to understand consumer equilibrium. Through these platforms, sharing one’s experience with others has become so easy, in the form of reviews, be it regarding a product brought or any kind of service availed.

Proceedings of the 5th FIRST T3 2021 International Conference (FIRST-T3 2021)

Muhammad hober Mubarok

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Russian Federation

Intl. airports, urkk - pashkovskiy. krasnodar.

Hi! This is the airport of the Russian city - Krasnodar. Redesigned for XP-12. Added new textures of the apron, taxiways and runway. Added 3D trees and grass that change color depending on the season. Ground traffic and ATC services have been implemented

The roughness of the coating is realized depending on the type of coating. Traffic is smooth on the asphalt, shaking on broken slabs. For a more complete feeling of the effect, it is recommended to use XP Realistic

The following libraries are required for the script to work correctly: – BS2001 Object Library – CDB-Library – MisterX library – OpenSceneryX – Ru scenery – The Handy objects library

- SAM plugin for marshal animation

Unpack into the custom decorations folder

If you dislike, please write in the comments what you didn't like so that I can fix the flaws.

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© URSS652 - All rights reserved. Any reupload or redistribution of this file without the author's prior written consent is forbidden. This X-Plane 12 add-on was created by URSS652 and shared in Scenery Enhancements » Intl. Airports for X-Plane 12.

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• Main File 1.0 January 09, 2023 - 233.80 MB
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2 Comments Browse comments

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This looks beautiful!! Great work.

The only improvement I could think of, is to use less external libraries and use the default XP assets instead.

URSS652 1 year(s) ago

Good afternoon! Thanks for the feedback!

I tried very hard to use as few third-party libraries as possible, but unfortunately there are still not enough objects in XP12 that are really needed for the airfield, such as the ILS system

Initial release of this file just launched. Welcome aboard!

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