The cost of convenience: Students with food and beverage apps spend more money

photo by Carrigan Gurley Junior Hope Nixon confirms her Starbucks order and picks it up. Nixon ordered her drink through the mobile app and picked it up earning points with her purchase.

Statistics have shown a spike in money spent through food and drink apps as well as third party food delivery apps since COVID-19 in 2020. Because of the necessity for these apps during the pandemic, Americans have become accustomed to their usage and have continued to use them after the virus became less prevalent. 

“App spending on carryout and delivery peaked in March–May 2021, reaching a total of $4.4 billion, with third-party app delivery and restaurant-specific app carryout spending each reaching about $1.6 billion,” the USDA said. 

While peak spending was reached in 2021, TKA students and administrators continue to use food and beverage apps for their convenience, but they also notice that this causes them to spend more money when compared to not having the app.

“Starbucks’ mobile payment app is so popular that a few years ago it had the most mobile payment users in the United States…[reaching] over 30 million users,” Indigo Digital said.

TKA students contributed to this number, enjoying the app’s convenience and perks.

“For Starbucks, I definitely spend more money,” junior Hope Nixon said. “I would say that just because [having an app] justifies going a lot when I’m getting the points.”

Even though points and rewards are available through many of these apps, students tend to lean towards agreeing that the app’s points do not make up for the amount of actual money they are spending.

“Starbucks [rewards] definitely does not add up because it’s only one star (point) per dollar,” Nixon said. “You have to get 200 stars for one [free] drink, so $200 spent for one drink.”

Although the costs do not make up the benefits, the idea of points and free food is alluring enough for anyone with money to spend. Even before students can drive themselves, the convenience of a free beverage is enough to draw them in. 

“Every so often my app says, ‘here’s your free Red Bull.’” sophomore Kipling Hightower said. “And, that’s enough to persuade me to convince my mom to let me drive her to RaceTrac and get a Red Bull because it’s free.”

With the use of food and beverage apps, students feel that consumable desires become more affordable. “With my RaceTrac app, I can get rewards, and with those rewards, I can get stuff for free,” Hightower said. For others, saving money is not their main use for these apps. Instead, they prefer the  convenience of the app, allowing a rapid pickup time and minimal cleanup. 

“I use them for the convenience of getting food faster,” TKA assistant Mrs. Beth Newcom said. “I don’t use them to earn points, but that is a nice perk. I like that my food can be cooked and ready while I am driving, so it cuts down on wait time.”