Fair or foul? Unpacking consumer sentiment towards dynamic pricing in food delivery apps

The magic (or mayhem) of dynamic pricing isn’t new. Factors like demand, time of day or even competition have nudged brands to switch up prices. What’s new, however, is the fresh chatter around it, courtesy of American fast food chain Wendy’s toying with the dynamic pricing.

But while consumers may be familiar with ‘special prices’ and their corollary – higher prices - in some sectors, how do they feel about it in others?

A recent YouGov survey asked consumers across 17 international markets what they feel about dynamic pricing across different sectors. In this piece, we focus on food delivery apps - where consumers are split on the practice.

Survey data reveals that two in five consumers (40%) across markets feel dynamic pricing is a fair practice when it comes to food delivery apps. A slightly larger proportion though (43%) feel it's unfair.

YouGov’s demographic data shows that the youngest segment of consumers surveyed (18-to-24-year-olds) are most likely to find food delivery apps’ dynamic pricing ‘fair’ (49%) - a sentiment that fades as respondents get older. The oldest consumer group surveyed (those aged 55 years and above) has the smallest proportion of people who find dynamic pricing in food delivery apps fair (31%). More than a quarter of this group (26%) remains undecided on the fairness of the practice - making them most likely across age groups.

Furter, 45-to-54-year-olds (46%) lead in saying that it’s unfair for food delivery apps to employ dynamic pricing. Equal proportions of two age cohorts, 35-to-44-year-olds (43%) and 55+ year olds (43%) agree.

Sentiments towards dynamic pricing of food delivery services, by market

Consumers in Indonesia (69%) are most likely to find dynamic pricing for food delivery ‘fair’, closely followed by consumers in the UAE (68%). Close to three in five Indians (57%) and Hong Kongers (56%) agree as well, while Italians (41%) take the lead within Europe.

But it looks like Wendys, and other brands considering introducing the practice may have a tough time convincing consumers that they are offering them a good deal. Americans (25%) are least likely to say dynamic pricing for food delivery apps is a fair practice, while 52% say it’s unfair. While American companies like Ticketmaster and Uber have long relied on dynamic pricing, it may be a tough sell for others.

In Great Britain (where pub chain Stonegate Group announced plans to introduce dynamic pricing last year), three in ten (30%) consumers say it's fair for food delivery apps to lean into dynamic pricing. But more than half of all Brits (56%) say it isn’t and 15% do not have an opinion.

Among consumers who say food delivery apps’ dynamic pricing is unfair, Britons and Canadians (56%) lead. In Asia, Singaporeans (44%) account for the largest proportion of those who agree.

Consumers who are undecided on the fairness of dynamic pricing of food delivery apps – those in Denmark (31%), Germany (31%) and Sweden (29%) lead. Within Asia, Singaporeans lead, with close to one in ten consumers here (9%) saying they are undecided. In the US, nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) aren’t sure either, whether dynamic pricing of food delivery apps is fair or unfair.

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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from
nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 511 and 2054 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in April 2024. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

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