As an ethnographic researcher at the University of Oxford, I completed a six-month project on food delivery drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic using a mixed approach of participant observation, user interviews, and secondary research.
The COVID-19 lockdowns changed how people eat and commune with others. Ordering take-out food grew in popularity. Between February and December 2020 alone, food delivery transactions grew 96% in the United States, where food delivery had already been a growing industry. In the United Kingdom, the food delivery platform industry grew by 128% during the pandemic. More food delivery workers were needed to fulfill this demand, although Deliveroo drivers were making only £2 or £3 per hour (well below the living wage).
How might we improve the user experience of food delivery apps for drivers?
🏍️ The study’s objective was to understand how delivery gig workers exercised agency among the constraints they faced, in pursuit of social and financial mobility.
🥡 Economic freedom: “I am my own boss.” Food delivery proved to be reliable gig work. Some gamed the system by waiting outside popular eateries to earn more money.
🥡 Social freedom: “I was lucky to get out of the house.” The drivers felt grateful they had a reason to leave the house and congregate with fellow drivers. Oxford was much safer to delivery workers than London’s crowded streets.
🥡 Mitigating precarity: solidarity through WhatsApp. Drivers lent their accounts to others who might be waiting for immigration papers, using WhatsApp community to avoid parking violations.
Deliverables I owned:
🎯 Wrote up the research plan and ultimately used this data for my master’s thesis
🎯 Conducted 10 interviews with a diverse group of delivery workers
🎯 Researched using anthropological theories and ethnographies to prove my stance
Recommendations:
🍕 Platforms can use this data to understand drivers’ pain points and better cater to diverse needs
🍕 Assist undocumented immigrants with community resources, legal assistance, and access to education/career opportunities
What I learned:
Ethnography, when used alongside user interviews, can be extremely illuminating. Being able to do “ride-alongs” with my participants, I embodied what it was like to use the app and interact with customers when picking up and delivering food. These observations are invaluable to understanding their experience and improving it.
“What is it like to come here and do delivery? I was a systems analyst in the bank’s headquarters in Brazil. I didn’t have a boss. It’s a challenge to come here and work. Of course, you have to work everywhere, but doing delivery is a challenge. Rain or cold. It’s physical work.”