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Chapter XXXIX: Will Uber Eats Delivering Groceries to Homes at a Discount Really Save Money for Families?

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The biggest debate in 2025 America seems to be the price of groceries and whether they’re still too expensive. You’ll find some who say they’ve lowered in price after a long period of inflation, then others who say they’re still too steep for most average families. Amid that clearly political debate came Uber Eats seeing an untapped service. That is, offering the convenience of grocery delivery at a price anyone can supposedly afford.

Most people are already familiar with Instacart and their grocery delivery service. Some or many of you have perhaps already received some groceries at your door from them—if even doing the delivery yourself. While there’s often been issues involved with delivering groceries (especially with fresh grocery items), Instacart has basically stood alone without a lot of competition. DoorDash has offered some grocery delivery services, if not a large chunk of their offerings.

Enter Uber Eats earlier this year in wanting to expand their delivery strategies. So far, news shows Uber has taken off in offering fresh grocery delivery with special discounts. They’re already making billions in annual grosses. 

What makes this stand out is their offering of a “Fresh Days” concept where you can get up to 50% off on certain items in specific grocery markets. You have to be a member of the premium Uber One tier, though, to obtain these grocery discounts—proving you need to pay money to not only make money, but also save money.

Since Uber is basically competing with the above delivery services (including Amazon), they had to distinguish themselves further with specific features. The best of these are flexible aspects like supposedly easy grocery replacements, including real-time editing of your grocery shopping list. They also expanded their eligible grocery store list, albeit now partnering with Aldi, a discount grocery chain that may or may not be in your local area.

Based on the profits Uber is raking in with this, they obviously hit a nerve in the needs of the general public. But is the public really saving money and time going this route? What about the deliverer, and is it worth your own time to deliver groceries to people in your city?

I’ve delivered groceries for DoorDash, and it can often bring some uncomfortable surprises when picking up items. As for ordering groceries, the debate is on whether it’s easier to just visit your local bargain store yourself.

Delivering a Major Grocery Order

If you decide to take a grocery order from Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Instacart, you have to expect that it’s going to entail many, many bags. Nobody is going to order groceries digitally without making it a bulk buy. Not that some people don’t just order a few grocery items online, even if that’s generally through Amazon if not perishable items. 

When I was alerted to pick up groceries while doing DoorDash, the downside to their system was you had no idea how many things you’d be handling. There was no information on the app about how many items or bags there’d be. More than a few times, I learned I’d be handling up to 10 bags of groceries after thinking it’d be a smaller order. Yeah, it sometimes brought a jaw drop from me in front of the takeout clerks.

Thanks to reasonably large trunk space in my Kia, I had no problem placing the bags in there. It’s always a good idea to keep the trunk area in your car as free as possible in the event you do get a massive grocery pickup. 

The most positive aspect to delivering groceries is that you’ll get paid more, plus there isn’t a huge rush on delivery time since you’re not delivering someone’s lunch. Delivering is also going to mean simply leaving the bags by the recipient’s door since they’re more than likely not home. In this case, it made me wonder how long the bags would sit there considering theft is already a problem with simple, one-bag deliveries. 

This is why DoorDash always required a photo of ALL the groceries to ensure everything was properly delivered. And yet, would you allow all your groceries to sit outside your door for possibly hours—even if you (supposedly) received discounts?

The Discount Reality

Despite Aldi being a major American discount grocery store, it doesn’t even exist yet in 11 U.S. states. I’ll admit that I’d never heard of those stores until reading about Uber Eats partnering with them for cheaper grocery deliveries. Instead, Aldi is focused on certain states (mostly in the U.S. South) to gain the most profits.

In this regard, those of you reading this from the U.S. West Coast probably can’t even use Uber Eats grocery delivery. Some of you who need grocery deliveries due to no car or physical handicaps would likely have to tap the more expensive delivery services like Instacart and Amazon.

Even if you do have the Uber Eats grocery service available, remember that markups and added fees are going to make it often $50 more. This just ruins the reportedly incredible discount deals you can often find in Aldi stores. I found out they often only charge a dollar for many produce items…assuming it’s not sub-par quality.

Don’t forget about the protocol of leaving a tip for your grocery deliverer besides. You don’t want to be the recipient of rage from an Uber delivery person because you refused to tip them anything. If you’re getting multiple bags of groceries delivered, a $10 tip is more than acceptable. But of course, it adds even more to your bill.

It’s now considered that Uber Eats grocery delivery (at discount) is still a little too expensive for the average American due to the add-on costs. You’re better off just using it for emergency items you need immediately if you’re too busy to go to the grocery store in-person. Still, a lot of Americans are taking advantage of Uber’s service based on the profits being made. It may be just temporary as many find any advantage to save as much money as possible when buying food for themselves or their families.

Going to Your Local Discount Grocery Store

Here in Oregon’s Willamette valley, we have several notable grocery stores that offer food at discount prices. WinCo is one of the best-known ones, and it’s where I shop often. While some may suggest it attracts a ghetto atmosphere, this isn’t always true—especially if going late at night or early mornings. Since they’re open 24 hrs, you can shop at any time. And, they have prices generally matching ones at Aldi stores.

We also have Grocery Outlet, which is grouped in with being an overstock/close-out type of market. It’s a near match with WinCo, if perhaps finding even cheaper items there due to near expired products.

These two locations alone are prominent here in the OR valley, making it easier to travel to them. If you don’t have a car, you can easily get to them within a reasonable time via our city bus. Thanks to the 24-hour aspect to WinCo, you can also shop after-hours if too busy to most of the week. Just remember that WinCo has store stockers working inside if you decide to go at—uh, 3 a.m.

With these available, plus Aldi stores being a staple in other parts of America, it makes more sense to just visit your local discount grocery store in-person. You ultimately save money this way, plus have no worry about someone stealing your delivered groceries off your porch until you get home. 

This isn’t to say Uber Eats isn’t a good alternative—even for the reason of ultimately hating visiting a grocery store. I mean, they do get crowded, and it can feel like standing in a long bread line on some occasions. Add in screaming kids, plus cranky adults—and…you know. 

If you decide to partake in Uber Eats’ grocery delivery service, just remember to set aside a little extra in your grocery fund. Or, simply use it for a few extra things you forgot at your local discount store. There isn’t anything worse than suddenly noticing you forgot to pick up paper towels or a loaf of bread on your last visit—requiring an extra trip. 

That may be worth the $10 you’re perhaps paying per month for the premium Uber One grocery delivery service. Trouble is, you need to spend $35 minimum on your grocery bill to qualify for no delivery fees.

In Part XL, I’m going to wind up this Uber Eats/DoorDash blog by addressing a recent antitrust lawsuit Uber filed against DoorDash over anticompetitiveness. Is DoorDash really bullying restaurants to use their service over Uber? The two leading food delivery services in America are locking horns, which may be a fight to the finish.

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Chapter XXXII: The New “Buy Now, Pay Later” Model at DoorDash and the Implications for Deliverers

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This segment was originally going to be about self-employment taxes, though now it’s a new breaking news alert on an interesting (if concerning) DoorDash development. It’s about the recent business deal between “Buy Now, Pay Later”, AI-powered service, Klarna, with DoorDash. The intention is to allow more food payment flexibility to economically suffering Americans. And while that might sound like a noble venture, it’s also brought on a lot of deep thinking on social media (yes, really!) about what this portends in the way of adding on to personal debt.

I’m going to dive into this and see what it means for DoorDash customers—though, most importantly, how it affects you, the deliverer.

Based on the recent press release on this deal, both Klarna and DoorDash seem excited at the potential customer convenience. On the DoorDash end, they want people to buy more than just food, with electronics and other spendier things now in the delivery mix. For Klarna, it’s the usual corporate giddiness of being able to partner with a major business partner to up their clout.

Klarna is far from the only “Buy Now, Pay Later” service available. Over the last 5 years, many of these companies have popped up worldwide, with the most familiar to you likely being Affirm, or Apple’s Pay Later. Nearly all let you set up “Pay in 4” installments, some with interest and others not.

I admit to using Affirm a few times, though not for food. It was strictly for more expensive items, like electronics or household products. With Klarna generally ranked third for the most familiar BNPL services, it appears they’re one of the first to venture into allowing later payments for basic food deliveries.

One thing we all know about these companies is that they’re no doubt already being abused. Some people can’t resist putting in a promise to pay later, then renege because they have other expenses to pay, or just don’t have the money.

Let’s look at what that might mean in the way of “food debt” becoming a new depressing issue in America.

Will Americans Abuse the Klarna/DoorDash System?

In a word: Probably. You’ll find those who think these BNPL systems are just loan sharks who let people get into further debt trouble. It’s hard not to argue this stance in a time when economic hardship is at a new high. The divide between being rich and poor is more distinct now than ever, and many don’t even have enough money to buy decent amounts of food.

The idea you can order something from Jack In The Box and pay for it later in the month is far too irresistible. But what happens when someone decides to take risk and just never pays the bill? There may be more people who do that than anyone knows when many want faster fast food fixes.

Not only do fast food restaurants lose money this way, it also hurts DoorDash’s reputation. Plus, you have another little thing that should be the main focus: How does it affect the deliverer financially?

I’d say Klarna should have a provision of taking money out of the customer’s bank account if the bill isn’t paid before the end of the month. Some payday services do this if the loan isn’t paid on the initial due date. All of them also typically take legal action by garnishing paychecks.

The social media world also thinks food debt will become a major new problem in our United States of America. Sure, it sounds improbable, yet lack of any major penalties from Klarna could let the public abuse the system without too much worry. With many already deep in other debt, they may figure food debt is the least of their problems. 

As someone who delivered for DoorDash, I also take aim at what this does in deliverers being properly compensated. There hasn’t been any true clarification on what might happen if customers don’t pay their bill right away. It’s worth a quick look at what this means in terms of base pay—plus tips drivers depend on.

Will DoorDash Deliverers Still Be Paid On Time?

One thing about DoorDash is, with every prior customer being forced to pay in the moment, tips often helped drivers make well over $100 in a day. Once I was at Platinum status, I’d always make at least $100, and usually $120-$130 if delivering six or seven hours. Most of that was based more on tips than just the base pay.

DoorDash doesn’t even mention the drivers in their new press release about the Klarna deal. They just focus it on the customer, which is what they’ve always done anyway. I’d fully expect them to say all deliverers will still be paid the same as they have. The fact that they haven’t makes me wonder if changes are ahead.

Not being paid right away is one of the worst feelings in the world for those who’ve done freelancing work. When I worked as a freelance writer for 15 years, any delayed payment was a big problem. Even though it didn’t happen a lot with me, there were a few times when payments were moved to a week ahead, creating predicaments on getting bills paid on time.

The greatest thing I discovered about DoorDash was the chance to get paid nearly instantly via card transfers. If you had a DasherDirect debit card, all money you made in a day when on that, allowing you to cash in immediately. It was only if you waited for the automatic payment system to pay into a bank account when you had to wait until the upcoming week. Transferring to the DasherDirect card meant a small fee, despite being minuscule. This was worth it just to have the money faster.

With many DoorDash customers no doubt paying later now via Klarna, will deliverers have to wait to get their payments until later in the week or beyond? It’s a valid question to ask considering anyone having to use Klarna is assumed to not have any money…right away. Maybe some have no money at all. 

Yes, this means the immediate tips deliverers enjoyed might not happen right away either. How can a customer leave a tip if they haven’t even paid for their food? The base pay for the order would have to be delayed as well since that’s the approximate amount of the order itself.

Unless DoorDash pays the deliverers ahead of time based on what they think the customer is going to do, it may mean delayed payment systems. It would truly turn into freelancing work where payments are just a gamble or guessing game. And that would make DoorDash far less appealing to do for anyone thinking it over.

In a changing world now where getting paid what you’re worth is becoming far less possible, delayed payments at DoorDash would certainly ruin it for me. I’ve taken a break from it in recent months, though would think twice about returning to it if drivers have to wait to be compensated for a full day’s work.

Unfortunately, some may be so desperate to make money, they’ll willingly go along with this if there’s a guarantee of payment within two weeks or more. Unless you have a solid job where you’re paid weekly (as I fortunately do), some people may have to deal with shit just to have the convenience/freedom of Dashing.

This is a mere vent based on what’s out there right now. I’ll do a follow-up if I see evidence to any DoorDash deliverer pay changes. As of this publication, however, I’m expecting something different to payments is going to happen based on customers no doubt being all over the Klarna method.

It just seems unlikely DoorDash would pay the deliverer the same as before if a customer hasn’t paid for their food in full. Corporations would never take such a risk without losing money themselves. 

Now, maybe Klarna employed some mob-like figures who’ll knock down the doors of those who don’t pay their food bills. DoorDash should do the same to at least ensure a payment within a week. After all, they do have phone agents who sound like CIA agents. Hearing that on the phone is intimidating enough, believe me.

I’ll plan to cover this topic numerous times based on info I gather, and/or my own experiences if Dashing again soon.

Part XXXIII will now revert back to the self-employment taxes issue originally intended for this space.

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