Delivery Zones
A zone is a pricing and operations boundary, not a circle on a map. It decides which vendors a customer can see, what they pay and how long delivery should take.
Radius or polygon?
| Shape | Use when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Radius | Dense city with consistent roads | Includes rivers, parks and industrial areas |
| Polygon | Irregular neighbourhoods, bridges, one-way systems | More maintenance when boundaries change |
| Vendor-defined | Restaurants with their own delivery staff | Inconsistent customer promise |
Draw the zone around travel time, not straight-line distance. A 4 km radius across a river can take 35 minutes; a 6 km run on a highway can take 18. Test the edges at peak time.
Fees and minimums
- Delivery fee: can be flat, distance-based or free above a basket threshold.
- Minimum basket: protects the unit economics of small orders.
- Small-order fee: an alternative to a high minimum; show it before checkout.
- Surge/peak fee: use sparingly; customers dislike surprise pricing.
- Free delivery: budget it as a marketing cost, not as zero cost.
Vendor coverage
A vendor should appear only to customers inside its delivery area. If the platform assigns riders, the zone also determines rider supply. A vendor at the edge of a zone may be visible but consistently late; either shrink its area or exclude it from the launch zone.
Check menu availability by zone. A breakfast menu should not appear at 9 pm, and a vendor that closes at 10 pm should not accept an order at 9:55 pm with a 40-minute delivery promise.
Test matrix
- Address at the centre, edge and just outside the zone.
- One vendor inside, one at the edge and one outside.
- Basket below the minimum, at the minimum and above it.
- Free-delivery threshold before, at and after the boundary.
- Rider assignment when the nearest rider is outside the zone.
- Vendor closed, paused and sold-out scenarios.
Changing zones later
Existing orders keep the fee they were placed with. New orders use the new rule. Announce fee changes before they take effect and check that the vendor statements explain the difference. A zone change can alter payouts, so reconcile one day before and after.