In today’s busy lifestyle, people are driven by convenience and food delivery apps are a must-have on phones. Ordering food online means ordering food from an app or website for delivery or pickup. The food delivered can be ready-to-eat or not (e.g., from home-kitchen, restaurant or a virtual restaurant) or specially prepared for immediate consumption leads to Basket sneaking.

Delivery apps have changed the way we consume food by giving us various food varieties and removing the stress of cooking food.  

Are the food delivery apps helpful for consumers?  

Recent studies reveal an unsavoury aspect of these food delivery apps with hidden costs that customers do not know about. 

The phrase ‘basket sneaking’ is used to refer to these unplanned costs. It can transform a basic food order into an expensive experience. 

What is Basket sneaking? 

Basket sneaking is a new trend in which unauthorized subscriptions, services or products are added to customers’ charts without consent. 

According to the survey, studies found that approximately 87% of the people who use these apps have reported the sneaky basket. You can easily find Hidden costs in diverse forms, including surcharges, delivery charges and packaging fees. 

Meanwhile, some customers said that few delivery apps hide their additional charges during the order procedure and display them after checkout. It can easily catch people off guard. 

Studies and Expert suggestions on Basket sneaking

Some studies have highlighted that the majority of customers – approximately 43% of the users – think that concealed chargers on orders are not fair. 

Transparent pricing is vital for everyone, and food delivery needs to clearly declare all possible costs upfront. People are also facing issues regarding the quality of the food as well as the time taken to deliver. 

However, the ease of using delivery services has made these delivery apps very popular with particularly when buying food online is more practical and less time consuming than cooking. 

Certain experts suggest that food delivery applications should implement tighter rules. To tackle these issues, food delivery applications should clearly state additional charges before the consumer places the order.  

Some people believe that competition between apps result in better practices only when the companies try to maintain consumer loyalty. 

As per the reports, numerous food delivery companies started working on enhancing consumer loyalty towards their apps. It showcases that they are working hard to increase transparency and improve user experiences.