After the July labor market data pushed stocks lower and triggered recession fears in early August, economists have argued that there is no cause for concern. “We still think this is a very positive investment environment," Eric Freedman, chief investment officer for U.S. Bank Wealth Management said in a report.
However, the report from the ground seems to differ. A food delivery driver recently went viral for sharing a trend among customers that indicates things are pretty bad. Ren (@_ren_rose on TikTok) shared a story to show why she thinks the country is headed toward a recession.
Here's why DoorDashers think recession is imminent
The part-time DoorDash said that most people in her area are on a tight budget and are virtually not spending any money on take-out food. In the video, she says that while working for DoorDash one day, there were no orders coming in.
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She says there would have been one order per hour and that too were low pay orders. She then shares that back in 2020, things were vastly different as there were plenty of high-paying orders. "I lived off DoorDash," she said in the video.
She says that she even tried working with Uber Eats and things were the same. She mentions an article she read about McDonald's also struggling with sales as people are not spending money on anything.
This is indeed true as Reuters reported in April that McDonald's witnessed a dip in sales growth for the fourth straight quarter as low-income consumers refrained from eating out.
Another indicator of people not willing to spend money on food was McDonald's $5 value meal being an instant hit, per NBC. "Like we are going somewhere that I am very afraid of," the creator says at the end.
In the comment section, Ren seemed to have sparked a massive debate. Several viewers agreed with the creator saying they had no money to spend on delivery anymore. "In 2020-2022 I was a DOORDASH GIRLYYYYY. Like I was purchasing not delivering... I couldn't tell you the last time I ordered something, I'm broke now," one user @beeankaaaa wrote.
Others argued that it wasn't the bad economy or dwindling budgets, but the exorbitant charges and fees that make delivery expensive. "My daughter and I can sit down and have a meal with roughly $50 at this restaurant we like. If I doordash from that same restaurant my food alone is around $42... it's insane!'" suggested another viewer, @grtl_molina.
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Turns out, that both arguments hold value. While several fast-food chains have reported a decline in sales and footfall, the cost of delivery has also soared. According to data from Popmenu Americans are now spending 30% of their monthly food budgets on restaurants, down from 40%, two years ago.
According to a Vox report, the added fees on delivery apps have increased as states like New York City and Seattle introduced new minimum pay laws for delivery workers. This led to the delivery apps adding "regulatory fees," which makes ordering food ever so expensive. Thus, the creator may be both right and partly wrong.
For more such videos, vlogs, and entertaining content, follow Ren (@_ren_rose) on TikTok.
