Buy an electric car, put a big box in the back seat, and install a mobile phone stand on the front handle. After successfully registering on the platform, you can take delivery orders. Due to the low entry threshold, Hao Xiaoyu of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province became a part-time takeaway rider four years ago.
"If you are idle, you will send a few orders after work and earn some extra money." After working part-time for more than two years, Hao Xiaoyu became a full-time takeaway rider because he earned more than "screwing" in the factory. Like Hao Xiaoyu, low threshold, relatively free work and considerable income are the simple reasons why quite a few people initially chose to become a takeaway rider.
Time has passed, and now Hao Xiaoyu, who walks into the "street" from the factory, wants to escape from this industry. "This year, I can feel that the order volume is obviously much less, and there are more and more people around." On April 22nd, Hao Xiaoyu said in an interview with the reporter of China Logistics and Purchasing magazine that he was currently considering a career change.
Why did you enter the takeaway industry?
According to Sullivan’s report, in 2023, the order size of China’s ready-to-mix industry reached about 40.88 billion orders, up 22.8% year-on-year. It is estimated that by 2028, the market size will reach 81.31 billion orders, and the average annual double-digit growth rate will be 14.7% in the next five years.
At present, the mainstream order for instant delivery comes from the catering industry, but it is rapidly expanding to more diverse scenes such as fresh food, 3C, medicine, home appliances and non-standard services. Take Meituan as an example. Last year, on Tanabata, Meituan ran errands and completed 2 million flower orders in a single day. In terms of categories, the online rate of beauty care, electrical appliances, consumer electronics and other products exceeds 50%, but the instant retail offline penetration rate is only 1%, and there is still huge room for improvement. With the online retail format entering the era of "everything comes home", the increasing diversification of instant delivery demand scenarios is an important driving force for the rapid expansion and sustained growth of its market scale.
Guo Zhuangzhuang, who has been a takeaway rider in Beijing for five years, doesn’t pay attention to these data, and he doesn’t understand the development trend of the industry. The reason why he sent takeaway at the beginning was because he earned more money by sending takeaway. In January this year, the Research Report on the Employment of Blue-collar Groups in China in 2023 released by the Research Center of New Employment Patterns in China showed that the average monthly salary of blue-collar groups in 2023 was 6,043 yuan, of which the average monthly salary of takeaway workers could reach 6,803 yuan, which was only lower than that of Yueyue and truck drivers.
Guo Zhuangzhuang told the reporter of China Logistics and Purchasing magazine, "There are two peak seasons every year, the hottest in summer and the coldest in winter. Every morning, lunch and dinner is the peak period, and there will be more orders. At this time, I earn more. "
At six or seven o’clock in the morning, many take-away riders will wait outside the breakfast shop for the platform to send orders, or grab the orders themselves. "Generally, white-collar workers who go to work will make an appointment for breakfast in advance and deliver it to them early when they go to work at nine o’clock. At this time, there are more orders. " Guo Zhuangzhuang explained.
"Are 4768 and 4768 there?" "Is 3489 there?" "Hello, your takeaway has been put in the takeaway cabinet for you." Under the major office buildings in Beijing, there are such shouts around 12 noon every working day. Take-away riders are holding takeout in their hands, staring at the door of the office building and waiting anxiously. After the order was delivered, they immediately rode on the electric car and drove off to the next location.
In the process of delivery, Guo Zhuangzhuang also accumulated some experience. This helps to increase his income. The first is to look at the distribution data. "The platform sends you orders based on the data. If the data is good, there will be more orders, and if it is not good, there will be fewer." Guo Zhuangzhuang said that the data he mentioned refers to the delivery data of the takeaway, including the average delivery time, favorable rate, activity and geographical location. Fixed commuting time, high praise and high punctuality rate means that the data of the delivery staff is better, and more orders will be assigned. If the distribution data of "three days fishing and two days drying nets" will not be good, the number of orders sent will also be reduced. Second, when delivering takeout, you should wait near the business. "When it is close to the business, the platform will give priority to sending you the list of this place. When the weather conditions are bad, the price of the list will be higher. " He added.
Unlike full-time Guo Zhuangzhuang, Hao Xiaoyu started as a part-time takeaway. Four years ago, he worked in an electronics factory during the day and ran for takeout after work. "In the electronics factory, I have a salary of 5,000 yuan per month, and I start to run takeout at 6 pm. I also have a income of 100 yuan every day. At that time, my income can be 7,000 yuan to 8,000 yuan, which is a good income in Taiyuan."
In addition, delivery is also regarded by many people as a transitional stage of their career. In 2020, the Institute of Sociology of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences participated in the implementation of the national questionnaire survey on the professional groups of take-away riders. The survey results show that compared with the work plan for the next year, the proportion of take-away riders who choose to "continue their current job" has decreased from 70.7% to 51.7% in the work plan after five years.
Another reason why most people choose to deliver food is that they have more free working hours. Hungry? Hao Lin, a takeaway rider, said, "Compared with work such as delivery, delivery is more free. It depends on self-discipline. I personally prefer freedom." "There is no one in charge of this industry, which is definitely more comfortable than working in a factory." Takeaway rider Peng Jun said.
Shrinking distribution fee
According to the "Report on the Development of Instant Retail Industry" recently released by the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, it is estimated that the scale of instant distribution will reach one trillion yuan in 2026. The booming ready-to-use market track has also attracted the entry of Internet giants.
In March last year, Taobao released a notice about adding the "hourly service specification of Taobao", which showed that Taobao planned to add the "hourly service specification"; In November of the same year, Aauto Quicker also entered the field of instant delivery. The local life/group purchase orders on the platform support some KFC and Haidilao products for take-out/delivery, and individual small businesses will also have employees to deliver them; This year, the selection of "Hours" business in the East was officially launched.
What followed was the ever-expanding scale of riders. Take the data released by Meituan as an example. From 2020 to 2022, the number of riders in Meituan increased from 4.7 million to 6.24 million, an increase of 32.8%. At present, the number of takeout staff is still increasing.
Hao Xiaoyu told reporters that more and more people have joined the team of takeaway brothers this year, which has led to the phenomenon that there are too many porridge in the whole industry. "The income of this industry in the past few years was still good, and it was quick money. I ran a few orders today and I will get the money immediately tomorrow, so everyone will come to take delivery."
"Some young people have just entered the society after graduation. If they want to start a business and need money, they will send them for a few years to save some money. There are also some middle-aged people who have not found a suitable job. Due to their low academic qualifications, there are fewer industries to choose from. Takeaway is a better choice than other industries. " When talking about why there are more and more people in the takeaway industry, Guo Zhuangzhuang thinks so.
"Last year, there were more than 40 orders a day, and now it is good to have 20 orders. In addition, the commission for each order is also less. The original 2 yuan per kilometer has now dropped to a little more than one. " Liu Fei, a takeaway brother from Taiyuan, said. On the day of the interview, Liu Fei went out for three hours and only got two orders, including the afternoon rush hour. "Now the order is too difficult to grab. The take-away platform will give priority to the platform team, such as the happy rider, and the list will be given priority to the people in the team before being sent to the crowdsourced rider."
Peng Jun also felt that "since the epidemic was released, there have been more and more people." In 2022, Peng Jun left his job in the furniture industry and became a takeaway rider. "Now this person is doubled. In the past, there were more than 100 riders in this piece, and now there are three or four hundred riders. It is equivalent to two people in 100 yuan before, and now it is divided into five people. " He added.
Some people who have their own main business will also take part-time delivery in order to increase their income. "There are many rules for special delivery, such as wearing work clothes, wearing helmets, fixed commuting hours and various assessments. In crowdsourcing mode, the takeaway can do it as long as he has a mobile phone and can ride an electric car. The threshold is low and he is relatively free. There are no rules and regulations such as assessments." Guo Zhuangzhuang introduced.
It has been three years since Mr. Zhao of Tianjin chose to take delivery part-time after work. "There are more and more people, and there are so many orders. If there are more people, everyone will get less orders. Originally, they can earn more than 100 yuan a night, and now they are tens of dollars." Due to the constant adjustment of the platform algorithm and the increasing influx of people into the take-away industry, not only the number of orders allocated is less, but also the delivery fee of take-away is much lower than before. Hao Lin said, "You see, I have more than 30 orders now. I can earn four or five hundred in the New Year, and now I can only earn more than two hundred."
Hao Xiaoyu now earns about 4,000 to 5,000 yuan a month, which is almost halved compared with the peak season. Hao Xiaoyu is not a native of Taiyuan, and there are children at home. Whether renting or buying a house is no small pressure. "I only run a take-away order for one platform now. If two platforms are opened at the same time, there will be two platforms that send orders to the south and can’t be sent at all." Hao Xiaoyu told reporters that in order to subsidize the family, he will also use the afternoon to run orders for freight in the same city, such as decoration materials and documents, and he can take orders with electric cars. The commission of each order is relatively high, but there are few orders, so it can only be a few supplements. "
In the past, more orders were assigned to the peak period, and now the number of orders that can be assigned has also begun to decline. Last April, Li Min, who used to work in Burger King, chose to be a delivery clerk, working for about 10 hours every day. Li Min looked at the rider waiting in the distance and said, "You see, it’s time for dinner, and many riders are waiting here! Originally, there should be more orders during the peak period, and I have not received the order yet. "
In the past, the unit price would be higher in rainy days, but now, the delivery fee in rainy days has gradually decreased. "When it rained a few days ago, the unit price was only six or seven dollars. If you don’t run and others run, the platform capacity is enough, and the delivery fee will not be high." Mr. Zhao said.
"Now the takeaway staff is relaxed for tens of thousands of months, and the time for running takeaway is free." Some people commented on the news related to the takeaway, which attracted everyone’s rebuttal. Guo Zhuangzhuang believes that "those who get more than 10,000 are a few’ elites’, and most people have at most eight or nine thousand. Those who are over 10,000 are people who work hard. " Peng Jun works 12 hours a day, coming out at eight or nine in the morning and closing at seven or eight in the evening. He said that he used to earn 10 thousand, but now he can’t. The unit price has dropped, and he can earn eight or nine thousand at most.
"Blue Book of Beijing Population: Research Report on Beijing’s Population Development (2022)" shows that the monthly income of take-away riders who earn more than 60% of the national take-away riders is between 4,000 yuan and 7,999 yuan, and the proportion of high-income groups with a monthly income of 8,000 yuan or more is only 7%.
Some people enter and others leave.
Recently, Zhou Fang, who is engaged in the printing industry, has also joined the ranks of delivery, choosing part-time delivery in her spare time to increase some income, and currently earns one or two hundred yuan a day. "I just started to send it, and it is still in the exploration stage. It is said that it is the off-season. Let’s do it for two months and gradually accumulate experience. " Zhou Fang said.
Although people are still pouring into the take-away industry, there are also some problems that cannot be ignored in the take-away industry. Many takeaways don’t have five insurances and one gold, and their rights and interests are not guaranteed. "Now we have a cooperative relationship with the platform, and the platform will not bear our five insurances and one gold." Peng Jun said.
On January 31st this year, when Liu Fei delivered takeout food, because there was no street light in the dark, he didn’t see clearly that the road was being built ahead, and even people fell to the ground with their cars, causing soft tissue contusion in their legs. He had to stay at home for three months before he could go out and continue to run takeout food. "I fell several times last winter, and once I fell to my ribs, I thought it was broken. Fortunately, I didn’t hurt my bones, but I also rested for half a month before it hurt." Liu Fei told reporters that the takeaway brother is a high-risk occupation, and many younger brothers around him have had experiences such as rubbing and car accidents.
"I am 42 years old, and I have the heavy responsibility of supporting my family. I have no income at home for the first three months, and there is no lost time, but my children need money to go to school. Now take-out is getting harder and harder. Compared with the previous income of about 8,000 yuan, it is estimated that I will earn about 4,000 yuan from morning to night this year, so I want to change my job now. " Liu Fei said frankly that under such pressure, it is inevitable to change careers, but what to do in the future has not been considered.
As the income from delivery is getting lower and lower, Hao Xiaoyu feels that it is unrealistic to take delivery as a full-time job. "Because I have worked in an electronics factory before, I want to go to the factory to find a job again this year and take delivery as a part-time job." More pay for more work and free time attract people to join the ranks of delivery, but some people don’t want to stop here and want to jump out of this industry. "As a young man, I think delivery is only a transition, and it is temporary. You can’t deliver a lifetime delivery by saving a sum of money for delivery and then fighting for your own career?" After five years in the take-away industry, Guo Zhuangzhuang, a post-90s generation, has left the take-away industry and started a business with friends. At present, he is working as a tourist reception service in the tourism industry.
At present, the income level of take-away riders is acceptable, but the problems of low welfare insurance coverage, high traffic safety risk and weak rights protection are increasingly concerned by all parties. Some analysts pointed out that this requires all parties to form a joint force, improve laws and regulations, improve the social security mechanism, establish professional norms and standards, and build a safe distribution environment to jointly promote the sustainable development of take-away riders.
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