Professor John Colley from the Warwick Business School joins me to discuss the profitability of gig economy delivery and ultrafast grocery delivery (q-commerce). We discuss:
- Who is swimming naked in the fast grocery delivery sector
- The conditions that have led to funding flowing into grocery delivery startups
- Inflation and other factors putting downward pressure on consumers' spending power
- Investor funds drying up putting pressure on business models
- Network effects: customers, riders/drivers, and response times
- Ease of entering the ride hailing market (e.g. Uber), and implications for other similar business models, such as takeaway delivery
- Profitability and competition
- The cut major corporates have to take to meet overheads
- When will customers be charged the actual cost of delivery?
- Will gig economy delivery companies ever make a profit?
- Regulating gig economy delivery services and impact on future profitability
- Employees vs contractors, and impact on operating costs
- Governments looking for taxable revenue
- Funding consumers' champagne tastes on a beer budget
- Labour shortages and impact on costs
- Congestion, emissions, and availability of real estate for dark stores
- Forecasts for the future of the gig economy model and rapid grocery delivery
