ANNEXURE A: CASE STUDY

UBER EATS

Uber Eats is an American online food ordering and delivery platform launched by Uber in $2014$ and based in San Francisco, California. Users can read menus, reviews, ratings, place an order and pay for food from participating restaurants using a smartphone application or through a web browser. By $2020,$ the global brand has expanded to over $45$ countries and more than $6000$ cities. A localised strategy is followed in each region that Uber Eats operates in$,$ for example, the decision to launch in South Africa in $2016$ provided Uber Eats with an opportunity to localise food delivery to the climate of South Africa. Uber Eats operates in major South African cities including Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Polokwane, Port Elizabeth and East London. With more than $3000$ active restaurants, over $480000$ menu options and $80$ unique cuisines, consumers are 'spoilt for choice'. Restaurants available on the app range from well$-$known brands such Chicken Licken, McDonald's, Debonairs Pizza, Nando's, KFC$,$ Roman's Pizza to local or niche South African food such as kota or vetkoek.

To place an order on Uber Eats, customers can either download the app or visit Ubereats.com link. The ordering process is very simple, customers sign in $($or create an account$),$ set delivery address, choose the restaurant, select items by tapping $$add to cart$,$ place order, track order progress and lastly receive their food followed by an electronic receipt via email. When customers create an account, they can enter their banking card details manually or scan the card with smartphone camera. For those who like to pay the old$-$fashioned way, there is an option of making a cash payment. There are variety of ways for customers to save money on Uber Eats. Available promotions and latest offers might be listed under Uber Eats account and certain restaurants offer promotions to reward customers for spending a specific amount. Uber Eats pass is also available which entitles customers$$ unlimited free deliveries for a R$50$ fee every month.

When customers open the Uber Eats app, they see nearby restaurants grouped by a number of characteristics such as delivery time or cuisines. Furthermore, restaurants can use this real$-$time feedback and detailed comments to grow their business. Personalization is another key strategy for Uber Eats as users see restaurants feed that fit their taste next$-$time they open the app based on how they use the app.

From the above discussion, it is clear that the demand for food delivery is skyrocketing and the industry is changing very fast. Additionally, more research is necessary to better realise and effectively understand the online food delivery market. Uber Eats management has requested a marketing research proposal to determine awareness, perceptions and purchase intentions towards online food delivery services with special reference to South Africa. The proposed research study should also investigate the following specific aspects of the topic:

$$ Awareness of available online food delivery services such as Uber Eats, Mr D Food, SoFresh, Zulzi and specific restaurant delivery app.

$$ Consumer perceptions of price and service quality regarding online food delivery services.

$$ Preferred restaurants and dishes.

$$ Purchase intentions towards online food delivery and other deliveries such as grocery and alcohol.

You have been appointed to conduct the above marketing research and Uber Eats management has provided you with a budget of R$100000.$ You are instructed to have a total of $500$ respondents that should complete a survey. Respondents should be older than $18$ years old, reside at any province in South Africa and be interested to participate in an online survey which will be sent to them using Google forms. Before primary data is collected, it is suggested that you search and review published academic journals on Google Scholar regarding online food delivery and digital customer behaviour. A similar study was conducted by Uber Eats in $2017$ regarding motivations of digital customers in Brazil and the research findings, data and documents were made available for use. Uber Eats management needs the research results from $1$ June $2024$ to $31$st of December $2024$ and these findings should not be published, must be limited to only the researcher and Uber Eats management.

Source: MAHLANGU, S$.$G$.2024.$ Uber Eats $$ a contemporary case in Southern African Market.

Question $3$

Propose a sampling plan as structured below for the planned marketing research and motivate your suggestions to the client.

$3\mathrm{.}1.$ Step $1$: Defining the population.

$3\mathrm{.}2.$ Step $2$: Identifying the sampling frame.

$3\mathrm{.}3.$ Step $3$: Selecting the sampling method.

$3\mathrm{.}4.$ Step $4$: Determining the sample size.

$(1)$

$[10]$

Question $4$

Use a systematic sampling method to select the first FIVE $(5)$ respondents to be invited to participate in a survey from a list provided based on the below instructions.

Determine the sample interval.