The online food delivery sector is collapsing

Online food ordering was once the brightest example of technological convenience. Today, it has turned into the silent screams of an increasingly deteriorating ecosystem. The idea of having food delivered in minutes without opening the restaurant door is still appealing, but the economic and operational reality in the background is no longer sustainable. Weeks ago, Getir bringing me the wrong McDonald’s order and simply pressing the “cancel” button to close the issue instead of fixing the mistake is not a minor detail; it is a symbol of the mental collapse the sector has fallen into.

Leaving local businesses aside, it is clear that even chain restaurants are exhausted by this order. Because in this system, there is no accountability for those who make mistakes, no obligation to provide solutions, and no service culture. The courier asking for the address fifty times, incorrect shipments, indifferent refund processes… But worse, regulation has not defined the responsibilities of these giant interface companies. If the situation continues like this, the sector's chances of survival are steadily decreasing.

The financial side of this distortion is perfectly summarized by the example given on Cüneyt Özdemir’s program. The commission rates charged by the companies dominating the online food sector in Turkey are not a result of the economy, but of monopolized platform behavior. From a 1,000 lira order, 320 lira goes away with a 32% commission. The VAT on this commission is another 64 lira. Moreover, to stay on the visible list, one must pay an additional 100 lira to the intermediary. The result: 516 lira remains in the restaurant's hands from a thousand-lira order.

This picture is the typical end of the fairy tale that “everyone will win thanks to technology.” As the platform wins, the restaurant loses; as the restaurant loses, service quality drops; as service quality drops, customer complaints increase. The entire system has turned into an ecosystem that consumes itself. Unless this cycle is broken, restaurants have no chance of survival, and there is no possibility of the customer experience improving.

The real issue is this: These platforms neither take the burden off the restaurant logistically, nor handle customer relations, nor accept responsibility for errors. The courier goes to the wrong address, the product arrives wrong, the customer is victimized, the restaurant suffers a loss, and the platform wins again. Since the state has not produced a framework defining who holds this responsibility, the sector has been entrusted to interface companies that “do not feel the need to solve the problem.”

Online food may have grown with technology, but technology cannot make the collapse of a sector invisible. The online food sector is collapsing; because the restaurant carries most of the burden, the platform takes most of the revenue, and the customer experiences most of the dissatisfaction. In this three-way equation, only one wins. And that one knows better than anyone else that this order will not last long.

Those who ignore this fracture will soon start talking about “why restaurants are closing one by one.” What will fix the sector is not technology; it is a fair distribution of responsibility, reasonable commission rates, and an understanding that truly views service as service. Otherwise, online food platforms will only remain a bright case study on how another good idea can be misused.