Business
A delivery worker in New York City.
(Getty images)

Pay is way up and tipping is down after NYC's delivery wage hike. Takeout prices are flat.

Food-delivery workers took home $19.26 an hour, including tips, during the first quarter of 2024. That’s up from $11.72 a year earlier.

J. Edward Moreno

Requiring food delivery apps to pay their drivers a minimum wage doesn't dramatically change the cost of takeout, according to data released by New York City. 

New York raised the minimum wage for app-based food delivery workers last year. Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub launched a fierce legal battle challenging the switch, but a judge ruled in favor of the city, allowing it begin enforcing the law in December.

The initial phase-in rate was $18.96 an hour, which was raised by 3.15% in April to adjust for inflation, and it now sits at $19.56.

According to the city’s data, a delivery driver made $19.26 an hour on average in the first quarter of this year including tips, up from $11.72 an hour during the same period last year.

That’s a 64% increase in hourly wages in one year. Workers relied significantly less on tips, with the vast majority of their wages now coming from the apps.

Delivery-app have long argued that paying their drivers (which they consider contractors) a set wage would require them to pass costs onto consumers and merchants.

The apps did in fact start charging higher fees. On average, consumers spent 46% more on fees compared to a year ago. But they tipped 68% less, bringing the total average cost of a delivery order up only 2%, or 76 cents.

The apps also charged merchants 13% more in fees since last year, the city found.

New York may serve as a test study for other cities or states exploring minimum wages for app-based workers. Seattle started enforcing its own this year as well.

Ravi Inukonda, DoorDash's chief financial officer, told analysts in May that the company "did absorb a meaningful amount of cost" in the first quarter of this year due minimum wage laws in New York and Seattle. DoorDash has never been consistently profitable.

"We did pass on some fees to consumers," he said. "I do expect that every market that we operate in over time will have sustainable unit economics."

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Starbucks issues apology after viral “Bearista” cup meltdown

Holiday cheer turned into chaos this week for Starbucks after the coffee giant’s new “Bearista” holiday cup sent fans into a frenzy. 

Dropped alongside its 2025 holiday menu, the $30 beanie-wearing glass bear tumbler sparked long lines, sellouts, and even in-store scuffles before Starbucks stepped in with an apology.

“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations,” the company said in a statement to People. “Despite shipping more Bearista cups to our coffeehouses than almost any other item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast.”

Within hours of launch, frustrated fans flooded Starbucks’ social media pages and even store hotlines. Some customers waited in line before dawn and others said their stores received only a handful of cups. In one Houston location, the craze even turned physical, with police reportedly called to break up a brawl. Meanwhile, the cup is already reselling on sites like eBay, with listings topping $600.

“We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused,” Starbucks said. While in-store customers may be upset, investors seem happy about the viral hit, as the stock has risen over 3% on Friday.

If you’re still hoping for a Bearista at market price, that may not be on order: the chain didn’t disclose how many cups were made or whether a restock is planned.

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Target tells workers to smile, wave, and greet shoppers if they come within 10 feet of them

Target just rolled out a new rule for store employees: smile, make eye contact, and greet or wave when a shopper comes within 10 feet — and if they get closer, within four feet, ask whether they need help or how their day is going, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Dubbed the 10-4 program internally, the rule mirrors rival Walmarts own 10-foot policy, formalizing behavior Target had previously only encouraged.

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Monster surges on energy drink buzz, while Celsius sinks on distribution concerns

Shares of Monster Beverage climbed 5% after the bell on Thursday, and held most of those gains into early trading on Friday, following strong Q3 results.

The energy drink giant topped market expectations, with quarterly sales up 17% year over year to $2.2 billion and adjusted net profits growing 41% to $524.5 million — 11% ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. In the report, Monster highlighted its zero-sugar line and new product launches, with a stack of novel flavors already released this year, as bright spots.

During a call with analysts, Chief Executive Hilton Schlosberg said that the global energy drink category “remains healthy with robust growth,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that demand for more affordable caffeinated drinks is rising as coffee has become “really expensive.”

Meanwhile, rival beverage business Celsius saw shares fall as much as 23% on its Q3 results yesterday — despite beating expectations, with revenue jumping 173% — largely due to concerns about a change in the company’s distribution channel, as its newly acquired Alani Nu brand joins the PepsiCo distribution network.

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