'Tip nudging' becoming more common on delivery apps
If you use ride-share apps and food or grocery delivery apps, then you might be familiar with tip prompts or "tip nudging."
Tip nudging is used by various apps you may use regularly which essentially asks buyers to revisit the transaction – particularly the tip – even after the service is over.
It is becoming more common.
For example, Instacart said a customer might be prompted to leave a tip at checkout, if the customer opts not to leave one but if they rate a shopper with five stars. Instacart also said customers have up to 14 days after their shopper delivers their order to increase their tip.
Self-checkout machines now ask for tips in latest squeeze on customers
Consumers are now requested to leave tips at self-checkout machines at some airports, bakeries, coffee shops and stadiums across the US
"For delivery, tips are a majority of the pay that couriers get. So without tips, the system really wouldn't work as it is. I think a lot of people may not realize that, you know, Dashers and Uber Eats couriers really rely on those tips. That's sort of one of the reasons why the companies are pushing tips so aggressively," Harry Campbell, the founder of the Rideshare Guide, told FOX 5 New York.
"They remind you afterwards, or it's, ‘Hey, did you enjoy it?’ If you try to drop your tip down to $0, they might prompt you with something that says, ‘Hey, you know, Jane, as a driver, a delivery driver in California, she uses this money to pay for her kids school.' They really can tug at your heartstrings at times. And I think obviously, as couriers and drivers, we all appreciate tips. But I think it is, for these companies, it's very important to have tips because without tips, you know, there wouldn't be enough money for delivery drivers to kind of complete a lot of these orders," Campbell added.