Families with children are more likely to use a range of gig services more often than people without kids, making them "power users," a report from TransUnion this month found.
Sixty-one percent of respondents with kids said they order food for delivery from a service like DoorDash "once or multiple times a week," according to a survey of 1,051 adults that TransUnion conducted in February. About 40% of respondents without children said the same.
Households with children also spent more than those without kids. About 5% of childless users spent more than $500 a month on gig services. For people with kids, 23% spent at least that much.
Families represent exactly the kinds of users that many gig apps want: People who use the apps frequently and spend a lot on them. While apps like Uber focused on getting customers to start using their services last decade, many now want to become part of users' daily routines, providing rides to work and delivering grocery hauls.
"It's not only usage in terms of frequency, but usage in terms of just sheer amount of money that's spent as well," Mark Rose, senior director, market strategy for TransUnion's retail business, told Business Insider in an interview.
Some delivery and ride-hailing apps have added features specifically for families. In 2023, for instance, Uber started offering accounts specifically for teens to order food for delivery or call a ride β with parental oversight of their spending and confirmation that they made it to their destination.
Gig apps could do even more to cater to families, TransUnion's Rose said.
For example, TransUnion's survey found that promotions β think limited-time discounts or coupons β were one of the top factors that users with kids considered when deciding which app to use.
That means gig apps could offer more promotions specifically for families, especially given their growing businesses in advertising and helping restaurants and brands market to specific types of customers, Rose said.
"Could I help a restaurant target certain promotions based on family meal deals or other sorts of options that would appeal to a family?" Rose said. "I think there's more to be done there."
Spokespeople for Uber and DoorDash did not respond to requests for comment from BI.
Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.
Starbucks is investing in more shifts for baristas at its stores.
Mark Makela/Reuters
Starbucks is staffing up thousands of US stores with additional staffing.
Analysts say the investment in people could boost Starbucks' turnaround β if deployed correctly.
It's a sharp contrast with other restaurant chains, which are using more AI and automation.
AI is taking drive-thru orders at Wendy's, and Chipotle uses machines to prep avocados for its guacamole.
Starbucks, however, is turning to a different solution: People.
The coffee chain said in its latest earnings report that it plans to staff up its stores over the next several months. The reason: The efficiency-oriented machines that it's spent the last few years using just weren't good enough at speeding up drink production as good ol' humans.
Some of the additional staffing will involve hiring more baristas, a company spokesperson said. In other cases, Starbucks will give additional shifts to existing baristas or pull in workers from one store to fill in at another to fill in.
"They're realizing that there's more to it, and solving some of the throughput and other experience issues they need to fix is going to require more labor," said R.J. Hottovy, the head of analytical research at Placer.ai
As it staffs up stores, Starbucks is also rolling out a new algorithm that will determine the order in which baristas make drinks. That will help baristas make drinks more efficiently with those extra shifts, the company has said.
By the end of September, the new labor model and the algorithm will be in about 3,000 US stores, Niccol said on last month's earnings call.
Starbucks provides a counter-example to a broader restaurant industry trend. While many other chains are automating processes, especially with AI, the Seattle-based company is acknowledging that there might be limits to what machines can do.
At Starbucks, machines haven't been as effective as people
Over the last few years, Starbucks rolled out the Siren System, which made a series of equipment and process improvements meant to speed up the production of cold beverages like frappuccinos.
At the end of April, though, CEO Brian Niccol said that Starbucks would halt the system's use as it invested more in adding shifts for its baristas.
"We're finding through our work that investments in labor rather than equipment are more effective" at making orders quickly, Niccol said during the company's earnings call.
The additional workers also mean that store employees are "able to greet customers, hand off orders personally, be available for customer questions and requests, and more," Starbucks said. "Customers appreciate these memorable, more personal moments in our community coffeehouses."
Earlier this year, Starbucks tried out the additional baristas at 700 stores, Niccol said on the company's earnings call. Those stores saw a growth in transactions, he added.
Still, spending more on people has its risks.
Starbucks will have to make the additional shifts work across in-store, pick-up, and drive-thru orders, said Sujay Saha, founder and president of Cortico-X, a consulting firm focused on customer experience.
Some baristas have told BI that their stores have been overwhelmed by the number of orders that they have to fill, especially those that customers place through the Starbucks mobile app.
Niccol has said that he wants Starbucks to provide both quick coffee and food to go as well as more personal service for customers who want to hang out in-store.
"That is an experience that some customers need," Saha said of Niccol's focus on connections between patrons and baristas. "But some customers just need to get the coffee and head out."
More baristas could improve Starbucks' customer experience
Some baristas told Business Insider that they are skeptical that the extra workers will make a difference. The baristas declined to be identified by name, citing potential retaliation from Starbucks, but BI has verified their identity and work for Starbucks.
One Starbucks worker at a store in New Mexico said that she and her colleagues are overwhelmed and need the extra shifts β something that's apparent to store visitors and could deter job applicants.
"People know they're going to be overwhelmed, overworked, and under-compensated," the employee said.
Another barista, based in a store in Ohio, said that the additional staffing are welcome news since their manager usually steps in to help when they are understaffed during a busy period.
"The only day my store manager was not on the floor working with us were Monday's," the employee said.
Another employee, who works at a store in North Carolina, said that the location is struggling to keep employees between understaffing and recent changes to Starbucks' dress code.
"I'll believe it when I see it," the employee said when asked about Niccol's announcement of additional shifts.
Employing people still costs money. Starbucks' shares dipped roughly 7% as the company announced the additional investment in labor.
Executives said that they plan to offset the costs by applying zero-based budgeting to Starbucks' expenditures. The measure determines spending by asking managers to justify each expense rather than using last year's budget as a baseline.
Paying for more person-power isn't cheap, but it does fit in with Niccol's goal of making Starbucks a place that customers want to keep coming back to, Placer.ai's Hottovy said. Visits to Starbucks stores fell 0.9% in the first quarter, according to foot traffic data from Placer.ai.
Additional staffing β and better customer service β could get patrons to stop by more frequently, Hottovy said.
"At the end of the day, it's really your employees that make the experience," he added.
Do you work at Starbucks and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
Real American Beer, a brand Hogan founded in 2024, plans to submit a bid for Hooters' intellectual property soon, a person familiar with the company's plans told Business Insider.
If a bid was successful, it would allow Hogan and Real American Beer to create Hooters-branded merchandise, such as food and beverages, that it could distribute at restaurants, including Hooters locations, as well as at retailers and entertainment and gaming venues, the person said.
Real American could license the Hooters name back to the restaurants under the potential deal, this person said. Hogan's company isn't interested in acquiring or operating the restaurants, they added.
The bid would need to be approved by the parties overseeing Hooters' bankruptcy. The person familiar with the plan declined to say how much the bid would be worth, but said it would be an all-cash offer. The deal is in flux, and terms and potential buyers could change.
Hooters of America, one of two companies that operate Hooters restaurants in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. The company is owned by the private equity firms Nord Bay Capital and TriArtisan Capital Advisors.
Hooters of America's restaurants are still open during the bankruptcy process. The company plans to sell some of its locations to franchisees who opened the first locations in the 1980s.
Hogan and Hooters have a relationship going back decades.
The chain's founders opened its first location in Clearwater, Florida β the same city where Hogan was born and raised. It's also where Hogan raised his family, and he still owns houses and attends church in the area.
Hogan also appeared at one of the restaurant chain's locations last year to film a stunt where he threw the TikToker Frankie Lapenna into a table, complete with a tablecloth featuring the chain's logo.
Hooters was also one of the first places that Real American distributed its beer after launching in 2024.
"Hooters has always been a big part of his life," the person familiar with Real American Beer's plans told BI.
If a bid is successful, Real American Beer could distribute Hooters products using the same distributors it already uses for its beer. Real American distributes beer at Walmart in 28 states, as well as at supermarkets including Albertsons.
While his brand might not be interested in Hooters' locations, Hogan does have restaurant experience. He overseesΒ Hogan's Hangout, a restaurant near the beach in Clearwater.
In the 1990s, he also opened a now-defunct restaurant called Pastamania in the Mall of America in Minneapolis.
Do you have a story idea? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected]
After years of effort and billions of dollars, the retailer is on the verge of being able to deliver to 95% of the US population within three hours, CEO Doug McMillon said during the company's first-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
That's faster than Amazon (though Walmart's selection of products available for such speedy delivery is smaller).
Not only is its delivery reach getting wider, the company handled nearly twice as many three-hour deliveries last quarter as it did a year ago, helping its e-commerce business to post a quarterly profit for the first time.
Overall, Walmart is now handling a lot more packages through its delivery network than it did a few years ago β something that CFO John David Rainey called "densification."
"Think about the opportunity to deliver a package to five houses on the street versus one house on the street," Rainey said. "As we grow, we continue to spread those costs over more volume."
Many Walmart customers are also willing to pay to get their purchases delivered within a few hours, Rainey added. Walmart already offers fast delivery on groceries, for instance, through its Walmart+ paid subscription program. Other shoppers can pay a fee between $7.95 and $9.95 for at least $35 worth of groceries.
Retail tends to be a low-margin business. Turning a profit on delivery can be even more challenging.
But Walmart is starting with something that few competitors have: a sprawling fleet of more than 4,600 stores that are stocked with tens of thousands of items.
From there, Walmart has made further investments over the past several years, including specialized fulfillment centers, remodeled retail stores, and an increasingly automated supply chain to keep inventory flowing.
The company has also built β and redesigned β a suite of apps for customers, workers, and Spark delivery drivers to make ordering and fulfilling more convenient.
More recently, the company has been selling warehousing and delivery muscle to other businesses, as well as a growing (and highly profitable) advertising sales business.
Those revenue streams help Walmart keep delivery speeds fast and costs low while earning money for the company.
All of it adds up to an ever more efficient delivery operation that the company says was able to deliver last-minute bouquets of fresh flowers to customers on Easter and Mother's Day β and presumably some chocolates too.
"It shows the relevance of convenience," Rainey said.
Do you work for Walmart Spark or another gig delivery service and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
Uber unveiled several features Wednesday geared toward saving users money.
Anadolu/Anadolu Agency
Uber's newest features include options for cheaper rides and food delivery.
Users will soon be able to find cheaper groceries and get a new type of shared ride in the app.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has talked about the importance of getting users to order frequently.
Uber's newest features could help you spend less on each ride or grocery order β particularly if you use the app frequently.
The ride-hailing and delivery app unveiled multiple budget-focused offerings at its annual Go-Get conference, from a tool that finds cheaper groceries to a new kind of shared ride aimed at commuters that focuses on the busiest streets in an area.
With the features, Uber wants to make "things a little easier, a little more predictable, and above all, a lot more affordable" for users, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the conference Wednesday.
The price-conscious features come as Uber tries to get existing customers to use its app more. Uber's latest quarterly results, which the company reported last week, were driven by "growth that's coming from engagement and frequency, not just price," Khosrowshahi said on acall this month.
The company is also seeing growth in the number of subscribers to Uber One, its paid subscription service that offers discounts and other perks on rides and delivery.
One of the new features unveiled Wednesday is the Uber Eats Savings Slider. Customers will be able to add groceries to their basket, then use the slider to decide how much money they would like to save. As they increase the savings amount, the app will suggest cheaper versions of what they have selected.
The feature could save users 15% to 20% on average and will be available later this year in the US and Canada, Rohan Mathew, Uber's senior director of delivery engineering, said at Go-Get.
"If I care how many swaps Uber makes, I can really crank up the savings," he said. In an example on stage, Mathew increased the savings amount, which swapped a blanket that he had selected for a Snuggy wearable blanket that was on sale.
Uber is also adding an option it calls "Route Share" to its ride-hailing business. Under the offering, users can save as much as 50% on fares by walking longer distances to pick up points along major, busy streets and sharing rides with other passengers, the company said at its presentation.
Route Share is "our most affordable ride offering yet" and "the perfect way to get to and from work without breaking the bank," Uber said in a statement summarizing the new features. Uber started offering the service on Wednesday in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore.
Both Route Share and the grocery feature are aimed at users who would incorporate them into their daily or weekly routines.
Uber's focus on savings and how much customers pay for its services comes as many consumer brands worry about a potential recession, driven in part by the lingering effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs on the economy.
Uber itself has not reported evidence of a downturn, with customers still spending on ride-hailing trips and food deliveries. And Wednesday's presentation didn't include much talk of the state of the economy.
But leaders at the conference made many references to savings, deals, and discounts. While introducing the savings slider feature, for instance, Mathew referenced grocery prices that have remained high thanks to inflation.
And Sachin Kansal, Uber's chief product officer, said at the conference that its route share feature is meant to help daily commuters save money.
Using Uber could also get cheaper if a recession comes, Khosrowshahi said recently, since more people would be likely to turn to working for the app for income.
Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.
GigU uses information that independent contractors see on-screen when they're offered a gig to calculate an estimate of how much the worker will earn per mile and at an hourly rate.
Reuters
GigU, an app that gives gig workers per-mile and per-hour pay estimates, just launched in the US.
The app's "cherry picker" feature was the subject of a legal battle with Uber in Brazil.
Many gig workers have become more selective about which jobs they take as they try to earn more.
An app launching in the US on Wednesday has drawn ire from Uber in the past after helping gig workers answer a key question: Which rides and deliveries make the most financial sense to take?
GigU uses information that independent contractors see on-screen when they are offered a gig to calculate an estimate of how much the worker will earn per mile and at an hourly rate.
The feature, which GigU calls the "cherry picker," is designed to help drivers and delivery workers accept or reject a job within the seconds-long window that most apps give them, its founders say. The app works with only Android phones for now.
"They tend to accept it all," Luiz Gustavo Neves, GigU's CEO and cofounder, said in an interview with Business Insider.
Factors such as the rising cost of car maintenance mean that gig workers "need to be more alert to which rides are profitable and which ones are not," he added.
GigU is one of multiple third-party apps that say they give gig workers more information β and can help them earn more. A study by the data analytics company Gridwise released earlier this year found that many gig workers saw their earnings on apps such as Uber and Instacart fall in 2024 despite spending a similar or greater amount of time on the platforms.
In GigU, users can set specific ranges for pay and, for ride-hailing gigs, passenger ratings. Based on those settings, GigU assigns a color to orders or rides as they pop up on screen: Green for a job that would be the most lucrative for the driver, yellow for options with earnings that mostly fall between the ranges that users set, and red for a job that doesn't meet their goals.
How trips on Uber look to GigU users.
GigU
The concern of declining pay was one reason Neves and Pedro Inada, GigU's other cofounder, started creating businesses catered to gig workers.
Inada and Neves founded StopClub in Brazil as a pit-stop where gig workers could get a bite to eat and have their car cleaned, they told BI.When the pandemic started, they launched an app for workers who couldn't gather in person.
In 2023, they added a forerunner of the cherry picker function that GigU offers. The idea came from one of the app's users, Inada said.
"He said: 'Look, we really have to select the rides. Driver pay hasn't gone up. Inflation is up. Could you guys build something that would help us choose the best offers?'" Inada said.
GigU says it has raised about $5 million in seed funding, part of which will bankroll its US expansion.
It says that its app can analyze information from multiple gig-work apps, including Uber, Uber Eats, Lyft, and DoorDash.
But GigU doesn't have relationships with those companies, and the cofounders ended up in a legal battle with Uber in 2023 over the similar feature in StopClub's app in Brazil.
Uber Brazil said that the app violated local copyright and competition lawsΒ and illegally obtained and stored confidential data from the Uber app, the tech news site Rest of WorldΒ reportedΒ at the time. A court in Brazil decided in favor of GigU and allowed the app to stand.
An Uber spokesperson said that "using automation tools, apps, or bots to manipulate the Uber app or access Uber data in any way isn't allowed" per its community guidelines and terms of service. Uber is still "engaged on the legal front in Brazil" with GigU and StopClub, the spokesperson added.
DoorDash and Lyft didn't respond to requests for comment.
GigU's founders said that their app merely takes information that the gig worker already sees and presents it in a more analytical context. From there, it's up to the gig worker to make a choice, they said.
The app doesn't accept jobs on behalf of the workers or spoof their GPS location, Neves added. Other third-party apps, known among gig workers as "bots," are capable of those kinds of tasks.
"We had users asking us to do that kind of stuff as well," Neves said. "We said, 'No, we're not going to do that, because that is wrong.'"
"We just give them transparency," he added.
Having that transparency can make a difference for gig workers who are served a trip or order while in the middle of completing one, said Len Sherman, an executive in residence and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
For the gig worker, "it's system overload," Sherman told BI.
"He's still got a passenger, he's trying to figure out how to finish the trip, something pings up, it's a distraction," he said. "By and large, they're accepting these trips, which is why Uber can keep the price down."
Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.
Jim Beam, owned by Japan-based Suntory Holdings, has been bracing for an anti-American backlash since the beginning of 2025.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Backlash to tariffs and other US policies has hit some of the biggest American brands.
Some shoppers abroad are avoiding products like Coca-Cola and Jim Beam, given their ties to the US.
Not all American brands have been affected to the same degree, however.
For some people abroad, a Jim Beam and Coke isn't going down as easily as it once did.
Companiesthat make some of the biggest American brands have noted different degrees of pain as some consumersoverseas avoid their products in protest of President Donald Trump's trade war.
Globally, consumers are less likely to buy many major US brands than they were just a few months ago, survey data published late last month by Morning Consult found.
"This suggests that overseas consumers are uniquely singling out some American brands due to their country of origin," the report says.
US companies already face plenty of problems because of tariffs, mostly in the form of snarled supply chains and higher import costs. The backlash abroad points to another issue: What happens when a brand's connection with America starts becoming a liability instead of a selling point?
In Mexico, for instance, the share of customers who said they were "absolutely certain" to buy a Coca-Cola product in the near future fell from 40% in January to 28% in February before rebounding to 34% in April, according to Morning Consult data.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said that some Latino consumers in the United States and in Mexico pulled back on their purchases of the company's products during the first quarter after videos circulating on social media in February said, without evidence, that Coke had reported some of its own employees to US immigration authorities.
Quincey said that the videos were "completely false, but they impact the business" anyway.
McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said during an earnings call last week that the fast-food chain didn't see a hit from diners abroad pulling back in results during the first quarter. But the chain did note an uptick in anti-American sentiment generally, he said, especially in Canada and Northern Europe.
"What we have seen in our survey work is that there has been an increase in people in various markets saying that they're going to be cutting back their purchase of American brands," Kempczinski said.
Since the start of the year, Japan-based Suntory Holdings has been bracing for a hit to Jim Beam and Maker's Mark, two American whiskey brands it owns.
Suntory expected that in 2025 American products would be "less accepted by those countries outside of the US because of first, tariffs and, second, emotion," CEO Takeshi Niinami told the Financial Times in February.
"We are closely monitoring developments and have taken actions to assess and plan for potential risks to our business across markets," a Suntory spokesperson told Business Insider, adding that the company has seen "demand picking up" for its American Whiskey brands so far in 2025.
Instead of buying products associated with the United States, foreign consumers could shift their spending to local brands. That's already happening in Canada, where shoppers are eschewing US products at grocery stores and other retailers in favor of Canadian-made equivalents.
"The risk for US brands is that consumers' growing antagonism toward the United States resulting from an onslaught of tariffs emanating from Washington will cause them to seek out alternative goods and services provided by local and foreign (non-U.S.) brands," Morning Consult wrote in its April report.
Not all big US brands that sell abroad are feeling the same pinch.
Tapestry, the company that makes luxury purses and other accessories under the Coach and Kate Spade New York brands, said on Thursday that it wasn't seeing any sales slowdown due to anti-American sentiment abroad.
Levi Strauss & Co., the jeans brand, said that its sales haven't been affected either.
CFO Harmit Singh said on an earnings call in April that "we're entrenched with the local consumers" in other countries. He added that in some international markets, Levi Strauss has been selling jeans for several decades.
"Right now, international business is fairly strong," Singh said.
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 β This story has been updated to include a comment from Suntory sent after publication.
Uber is trying to grow its ride-hailing business in "less dense" markets like suburbs.
Anadolu/Anadolu Agency
The suburbs represent a growth area for Uber's ride-hailing service.
Rides in these less-dense markets can actually be more profitable for Uber than rides in cities.
Uber reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.
Uber has most big cities covered with its gig-work drivers. Now, the company is trying to grow its ride-hailing business in the suburbs and other areas where people are spread out.
About 20% of the ride-hailing trips on Uber happen in "sparser markets," Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, Uber's CFO, said on the company's earnings call Wednesday. The number of rides in those less-dense markets is growing faster than those that Uber provides in dense cities, he added.
Suburbs represent an enticing growth market for ride-hailing apps like Uber as well as delivery apps like Instacart.
Last year, Uber struck a deal with Costco to start delivering items from the warehouse retailer to customers' doorsteps through Uber Eats. At the time,CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that the suburbs represented a growth opportunity for Uber, since many shoppers in those areas tend to be more affluent and buy more at once.
Bringing ride-hailing and delivery services to the 'burbs comes with challenges.
Having drivers nearby can be harder, for instance, since ride-hailing drivers tend to hang out near populated or busy areas to increase the chance of claiming good-paying rides. Suburbs, by nature, are more sprawledΒ out, meaning the closest driver might take a while to show up β if they even think it's worth it at all to take the ride.
Another challenge for Uber in the suburbs is that more people own cars, Khosrowshahi said.
Unlike dense city centers, people are used to driving to get almost anywhere. Exceptions include people who want to get to and from the airport without driving themselves and paying for long-term parking.
But some suburbanites are still using Uber in specific ways, Khosrowshahi said.
Many are big users of Uber Reserve, which allows riders to book rides in advance, the CEO said.
For riders, that can be more efficient, since there might not be a driver waiting nearby to pick them up if they order a ride when they need to leave.
Reserved rides also tend to cost more, which is a benefit to Uber as it expands in the suburbs, Khosrowshahi said.
A growing share of Uber rides in the suburbs are not related to long-distance travel, such as catching a flight, he said on Wednesday's call. Instead, users are turning to the app for more day-to-day rides.
"It's becoming an everyday habit going out to dinner," he said.
All of that means that Uber riders in the suburbs probably won't use the ride-hailing service as much as their city-dwelling counterparts, Khosrowshahi said. But the rides they do take are likely to be more profitable for Uber, he added.
Uber reported first-quarter earnings that were largely ahead of analysts' expectations on Wednesday. Despite worries about a potential recession and higher prices from President Donald Trump's tariffs, the ride-hailing service said that its customers are not yet pulling back on spending.
"We don't see any consumer slowdown at this point," Khosrowshahi said on CNBC on Wednesday. "We don't see consumers trading down to more affordable restaurants or pulling back from any of our services."
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says that if workers want to leave, there are options elsewhere.
Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Uber is reportedly cracking down on remote work, return-to-office plans, and other benefits.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the changes might prompt Uber employees to look for jobs elsewhere.
Tech companies have been pulling back on remote work and other employee benefits.
Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi is perfectly OK with employees who don't agree with him wanting to jump ship.
Khosrowshahi has recently made a slew of changes that might rub some workers the wrong way. He wants corporate employees back in the office at least three days a week, is asking remote workers to return to the office, and is extending the number of years people have to work before being offered a paid sabbatical.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Khosrowshahi said these changes could push some employees away, but they're in luck.
"The good news is the economy is still really strong. The job market is strong," he said. "People who work at Uber, they have lots of opportunities everywhere."
Hedging his comments, Khosrowshahi said that the company would, of course, like the employees to stick around but that the changes are sticking around.
"We want them, obviously, to take the opportunity with us, to take the opportunity to learn," Khosrowshahi added.
"We want more people in the office," Khosrowshahi said, adding that the revised policy gives employees flexibility to work from home two days a week, on Monday and Friday.
"It's the right mix of giving your employees flexibility but also getting them to the office for those all-important teamwork tasks," he said.
An Uber spokesperson said the changes weren't related to planned layoffs or meant to drive attrition. Starting in June, employees are expected to work in the office three days a week.
Big Tech companies have been cutting or revising various employee benefits over the past few years.
Recent changes to Amazon's compensation structure, for instance, reward top-performing employees and reduce what some low-performing workers earn.
Lately, though, some tech executives have given their staff a choice to either "disagree and commit" to the changes or leave the company.
Meta's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, told employees that it was their choice after the company rolled back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and said it would cut its low-performing employees.
There have also been multiple rounds of layoffs at Big Tech firms. Some companies, such as Microsoft, have explicitly made job cuts based on job performance.
Do you have a story to share about Uber? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
Users kept ordering food and groceries through DoorDash at the start of 2025, the company said during its quarterly earnings call.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
DoorDash's CEO said that people are continuing to spend on takeout and grocery delivery.
Tony Xu said the delivery service hasn't "seen any changes in consumer behavior" so far in 2025.
Many retailers and brands have voiced concern that Donald Trump's tariffs could cause a spending pullback.
Shoppers are pulling back spending in anticipation of the effects of tariffs. But not on food delivery.
DoorDash's first-quarter earnings showed that people are still spending to have restaurant food and weekly grocery hauls delivered despite the extra fees and tips involved.
"We haven't seen any changes in consumer behavior, even if there are changes in consumer sentiment," DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said during the company's earnings call on Tuesday.
DoorDash posted a profit for the quarter. Net income for the quarter stood at $193 million, beating estimates and above the $23 million loss it reported for the year-ago quarter.
Measures of how much DoorDash users were ordering, such as total orders, broke quarterly records, the company said. Revenue rose 21% to $3.03 billion.
Retailers and consumer brands have said that they will have to raise prices in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs. While Trump has paused tariffs on many countries since early April, he has kept duties on imports from China, a major supplier of consumer goods.
Many shoppers are already low on savings and stretching their budgets. Tariff-induced price hikes could lead to a spending pullback, some companies and economists have warned.
So far, those worries have not taken a bite out of DoorDash's business.
The delivery service has weathered other recent shifts that some analysts said might push down demand, such as society re-opening after the pandemic or high inflation in 2021 and 2022, Xu said.
In the face of tariffs and a potential recession, people will still need groceries and the occasional meal out, the CEO said. "Food really is the most resilient category," Xu said.
Other delivery services have also said that they aren't seeing signs of a spending pullback.
Instacart CFO Emily Maher said during an earnings call on Thursday that the delivery service has not "seen any signs of a weaker consumer" so far this year.
And Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has called his company "recession-resistant," adding that a downturn could even make rides and deliveries through Uber more affordable for customers.
Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.
Coca-Cola saw some drinkers in Mexico purchase less.
DENIS LOVROVIC/AFP via Getty Images
Major consumer and retail brands are reporting the effects of tariffs in their earnings calls.
Some are seeing higher costs on imports, especially from China.
Others are seeing less-direct effects, such as Mexican consumers avoiding American brands.
Tariffs are here, and they're affecting some of the biggest consumer brands.
For some companies, tariffs present a clear, if difficult, problem: Goods made in other countries, especially China, are now more expensive to bring to bring into the US. For brands and retailers to protect their profit margins, that will mean hiking the prices that shoppers pay.
Other brands import far less to the US, but are seeing people in other countries turn away from their goods due to their connection with America.
Here are some of the ways that tariffs are affecting some of the biggest consumer brands and retailers, as spotted in the latest round of earnings reports.
Adidas
Adidas, which is based in Germany, warned on Tuesday that the prices of almost all of its products will go up in the US under the current tariffs.
The reason? Adidas "currently cannot produce almost any of our products in the US," CEO BjΓΈrn Gulden said.
"Should the duties stay, then of course, there will be price increases in the US market," Gulden said during the sneaker maker's earnings call.
Amazon
Amazon said in earnings on Thursday that it's "maniacally focused" on keeping prices low even with tariffs in place. CEO Andy Jassy pointed to Amazon's wide product selection as an advantage for consumers looking to save money or hunting for a particular product as supply chains are squeezed.
At the same time, whether prices go up or not also relies on what the over two million third-party sellers on Amazon's platform decide to do, Jassy added.
Amazon did book $1 billion in one-time costs for its first quarter. Some of the charges came after the company brought in some inventory earlier than planned to minimize its tariff bill.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Amazon after Punchbowl News reported that the e-commerce giant planned to break out how much tariffs were contributing to price increases for shoppers. Leavitt called the proposal a "hostile and political act" on Amazon's part.
Amazon later said that it never approved the plan and only considered it for Haul, an Amazon website that competes with Temu and other sites that source products directly from China.
Retail analysts told Business Insider that the White House's comments are likely to make retailers think twice about how they disclose the costs of tariffs to shoppers.
Coca-Cola
Tariffs' effects on Coca-Cola are "manageable," CEO James Quincey said in an earnings call on Tuesday.
That's because many of the ingredients that its bottling facilities use source locally and only import a few inputs such as machinery.
But tariffs and broader backlash against the US are still taking a toll on the company, Quincey said.
Coca-Cola saw its sales slip among hispanic consumers in the US and parts of Mexico near the US border, Quincey said. "Some of the geopolitical tension was just causing people to be a little more cautious with their spend," he said.
Trump's tariffs could hit toy sales with a force "consistent with what happened with the 2008 and 2009 recession," Hasbro CEO Christian Cocks said in late April.
Toy industry sales dropped by "mid-single digits" during the Great Recession, Cocks said.
Tariffs could also hit Hasbro's net profit by between $60 million and $180 million in 2025, the CEO said.
Many of Hasbro's toys are manufactured in China or other countries. The company also makes board games, such as Monopoly, many of which are made in the US.
Starbucks plans to use zero-based budgeting to find savings that can help pay for its turnaround plan.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Starbucks is planning to use zero-based budgeting starting during its next fiscal year.
The coffee chain is trying to cut expenses to pay for its turnaround efforts.
Other companies have used zero-based budgeting, though some appear to have cut perks too deeply.
Starbucks is planning to use a cost-cutting method with a tough reputation as it continues its turnaround.
The method, called zero-based budgeting, asks managers to justify every dollar they spend each year instead of using the previous year's spending as a baseline, as many companies do.
Starbucks executives say ZBB will help them find savings as they spend more on their Back to Starbucks plan, including paying for more hours for the baristas who staff its stores.
"We're going to be looking at ways to grow the business and also take a really hard look through the zero-based budgeting approach to understand where else there might be some offsets," CEO Brian Niccol said during the company's earnings call on Tuesday.
"I love deploying a few tools like zero-based budgeting" to "help us get after some of those maybe-stranded costs," CFO Cathy Smith, who joined Starbucks in the last few weeks, also said on the call.
A Starbucks spokesperson did not respond to questions about how the company planned to use zero-based budgeting.
ZBB gained popularity in the 1970s, thanks in part to former president Jimmy Carter, who advocated β ultimately unsuccessfully β for its use by the federal government.
More recently, some major brands have adopted the strategy.
For instance, the private equity firm 3G Capital has deployed the method at the Stella Artois maker AB InBev and Kraft Heinz, the company that makes Oscar Mayer and Lunchables.
The strategy, which includes moves like making all senior execs fly coach class even over long distances, did lower costs and improve the companies' margins. But in some cases, the spending cuts were so severe that it made it tough for employees to do their jobs, Business Insider reported in 2021.
One employee, who had recently left Kraft Heinz, told BI at the time that she could only spend $5 annually on office supplies. She also had to bring in her own Keurig pods from home since the company, which makes Maxwell House coffee, provided no coffee in the office break room.
Other Kraft Heinz employees told BI that strict spending controls hampered the development of new products and ultimately made it less competitive.
Some companies have adopted the method at key turning points.
Managers at X, formerly known as Twitter, reportedly had to use zero-based budgeting after Elon Musk bought the company in 2022.
And in 2020, General Motors implemented ZBB to manage disruptions caused by the pandemic. The company temporarily cut spending by slashing advertising and furloughing some employees, then-CFO Dhivya Suryadevara said at an investor conference.
Do you work at Starbucks and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected]
McDonald's saw sales decline despite the chain's new value menu.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
McDonald's quarterly same-store sales fell to their lowest levels in five years.
Diners are cutting back on visits to the chain, including at breakfast time.
McDonald's has been trying to win over diners with a new value menu and its continued $5 meal deal.
McDonald's customers are visiting the chain less, even as the fast food giant tries to win over diners with a new value menu.
US same-store sales at McDonald's declined 3.6% during the first quarter, the restaurant said on Thursday. It was the biggest US decline since COVID lockdowns dampened foot traffic at McDonald's restaurants five years ago.
This time, a growing group of McDonald's patrons are visiting the Golden Arches less frequently, CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the company's earnings call on Thursday.
While low-income diners have been pulling back their spending over the past year, McDonald's saw more middle-income consumers do the same during its first quarter, Kempczinski said.
"People are just being more judicious in cutting back on visits," he said.
Diners have been spending less at McDonald's and other restaurant chains over the past year as worries about a potential recession have grown.
McDonald's has tried to win diners back with cheaper options. It unveiled a new value menu in January. The chain also launched a $5 value meal last year and has continued to offer it far beyond its initial one-month run time.
Despite the value offerings, diners haven't come back to McDonald's. Breakfast provides one example of the latest pullback.
For McDonald's, the meal is a "bellwether" of how diners are willing to spend, Kempczinski said. During the first quarter, the chain saw more customers look for alternatives to the chain's Egg McMuffin or Sausage Biscuit.
"You're seeing people are choosing either to skip breakfast or they're choosing to eat at home for breakfast," Kempczinski said.
The pullback wasn't unique to the US.
"In most of our major markets, we're seeing a similar story in regards to the challenging industry environment and softening consumer sentiment," CFO Ian Boden said during the company's earnings call.
Despite being one of the best-known American brands with a global presence, the chain's results weren't affected by pushback to US tariffs on foreign imports or other aspects of President Donald Trump's agenda, executives said.
"While there has been, I think, an uptick in general anti-American sentiment, that's had no impact on our business," Kempczinski said.
Correction: May 1, 2025 - An earlier version of this story misstated the quarter for the earnings report. The report is from the first quarter, not the second.
Starbucks reported second-quarter results on Tuesday.
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File
Starbucks is investing in more hours for baristas in its latest turnaround effort.
The chain is also rolling out an algorithm that sequences orders for store employees.
The company's second-quarter earnings came in below analysts' expectations on Tuesday.
Starbucks is betting that people, not machines, might be the key to its turnaround.
The coffee chain is planning to hire more baristas and invest in hours for them to work at its stores, CEO Brian Niccol said after Starbucks reported its second-quarter earnings Tuesday. Starbucks is also using a new algorithm to determine the order in which store employees make drinks, avoiding long wait times.
Starbucks is planning to roll out the new approach, called the Green Apron Service model, starting next month. The goal is to have it in about a third of its US locations by the end of its 2025 fiscal year.
"We're finding that investments in labor rather than equipment are more effective" at getting customers their orders and growing sales, Niccol said.
Starbucks' shares were trading nearly 7% lower after hours on Tuesday after the company outlined its plans to invest in employee hours. The company reported second-quarter earnings that were slightly below analysts' estimates.
The investment in employee hours is a departure from Starbucks' approach to staffing stores over the last few years.
Instead, Starbucks added new equipment, such as faster blenders and dispensers that gave baristas just the right amount of an ingredient, such as ice or milk, instead of having them measure it out. It also implemented the Siren Craft System, which was meant to allocate employees to the most important tasks at busy times.
"Over the last couple of years, we've been removing labor from the stores, I think with the hope that equipment could offset the removal of the labor," Niccol said on Tuesday.
"That wasn't an accurate assumption with what played out," he added.
Last quarter, Starbucks ran a pilot at 700 of its stores that involved adding more labor hours at those locations.
At one store in downtown Chicago, for instance, the additional hours allowed store employees to tackle mobile orders and lots of walk-in customers at that location, Niccol said.
At a suburban store, meanwhile, more hours went to staffing the drive-thru.
Starbucks is also betting that a new order sequencing algorithm will leave store employees more time to interact with customers. Niccol has said that he wants Starbucks to be a comfortable place for customers to hang out.
The algorithm, which Starbucks is using in 400 stores, has cut down on customer wait times by improving the order in which baristas prepare drinks.
"It's a lot calmer," Niccol said of stores that use the algorithm. "There's the opportunity to provide great connection" between customers and baristas.
The changes are the latest Starbucks has made under Niccol. Others include asking patrons to make a purchase to hang out in-store and directing baristas to leave hand-written messages and doodles on to-go cups.
Do you work at Starbucks and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
Starbucks reported second-quarter results after the stock market closed on Tuesday.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Starbucks reported second-quarter earnings after the market closed on Tuesday.
Under CEO Brian Niccol, the company is trying to return to growth.
The chain's results missed analysts' expectations, yet Niccol said that progress is coming.
Starbucks wants its baristas to deliver your coffee in under four minutes. Investors are still going to have to wait a bit longer for a good jolt.
The chain's second-quarter results came in slightly below expectations on Tuesday compared to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Still, CEO Brian Niccol said that he was optimistic about the company's turnaround.
"Our financial results don't yet reflect our progress, but we have real momentum with our 'Back to Starbucks' plan," Niccol said in a video message released with earnings.
Starbucks has made several changes to stores since Niccol became CEO in September. More are on the way, Niccol said, including new furniture in stores and an order sequencing algorithm aimed at getting drinks to customers more efficiently, he added.
Global comparable sales slid 1%. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting a decline of 0.59%. In the US, they fell 2% versus the consensus for a decline of 0.26%. Global sales on the same basis in the three months beforehand had dropped 4%.
Net revenue was $8.8 billion, slightly lower than the Bloomberg estimate of $8.83 billion. Shares were also slightly lower in postmarket trading on Tuesday.
Amazon is reportedly planning to show how much tariffs are increasing the price of each item on its website and app.
picture alliance/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
The White House criticized Amazon's reported plan to show how much tariffs are raising prices.
The move would be "a hostile and political act," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Yet a spokesman said it "was never under consideration" for Amazon's main website.
A report saying Amazon would list how much tariffs contribute to an item's price drew criticism from Donald Trump's White House on Tuesday and sent shares down.
"This is a hostile and political act by Amazon," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference before US markets opened on Tuesday.
The e-commerce giant plans to start breaking out the cost of tariffs for each product it sells, Punchbowl News reported early Tuesday.
An Amazon spokesman, however, told Business Insider that "the team that runs our ultra-low-cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen."
Amazon shares pared some earlier losses, trading down about 0.8% as of 11:40 a.m. ET.
Retailers and major consumer brands have said that they will have to raise the prices that customers pay to offset the cost of Trump's tariffs.
While Trump earlier this month paused plans to add tariffs on goods from many markets, such as the European Union, he has raised tariffs on imports from China, a major source of consumer goods in the US.
Shoppers will likely see higher prices in stores by the end of May as a result of the tariffs, one of Trump's former advisers said.
Carryout pizza sales at Domino's grew during the first quarter as delivery sales slid.
Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Domino's delivery sales fell in the company's first quarter.
But price-sensitive diners helped fuel an increase in carryout pizza sales, the chain said.
Consumers continue to look for ways to save money as tariffs raise recession concerns.
Domino's customers cut back on delivery during the company's first quarter as some decided to pick up their own orders and save money.
It reflects a trend that kicked off in 2024 as many diners continue to seek value when they order food. While some Domino's customers are willing to pay the fees and tip associated with delivery, others preferred to stop by a Domino's location to pick up orders themselves and save some money, CEO Russell Weiner told Business Insider last year.
In the US, delivery comparable sales fell 1.5% during the quarter ended March 24, the company said in its earnings report on Monday. Domino's carryout business's comparable sales, though, rose 1% during the same period.
Overall, Domino's comparable sales fell 0.5% during the quarter, "which was slightly below our expectations," CFO Sandeep Reddy said on the company's earnings call.
Customers' reasons to look for value have only increased in 2025. As well as persistently high prices due to inflation, many diners are also worried that their overall budgets will be hit by further price increases due to US tariffs on imports from other countries.
"Our delivery business continues to be impacted by macro pressures that are impacting the low-income consumer," Domino's Reddy said.
Domino's still expects its comparable sales in the US to rise 3% for all of 2025, Reddy said. Yet "in the event that macro pressures persist, it could put pressure on achieving this number," he added.
Many customers have continued to have things delivered in spite of inflation over the last few years. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said last week that the cost of having stuff dropped at your door could actually fall on the app during a recession as more people lose their jobs and work for Uber to generate some income.
However, Domino's results suggest that the delivery trend could be changing, especially as worries about a recession rise in the US.
Despite the quarterly decline, Domino's is still betting big on delivery. The pizza chain will start offering food through a partnership with DoorDash next month. The chain has sold food through Uber Eats since 2023 and will continue that partnership as well, it said.
One former delivery and ride-hailing driver said the thrill of claiming orders and rides kept him on the apps.
Boston Globe
Gig work has become a common source of income for millions of Americans.
One former Uber worker explained why he's leaving the app for good.
It's easy to keep claiming gigs without making enough money, he said.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Justin St. James, a former food delivery and ride-hailing gig worker.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
During COVID was the first time I heard about a family member doing gig work.
They made $500 for a week of work, and it was easy to get on the app. I started delivering in 2022.
After I started working for food delivery apps like Uber Eats, I realized that there's no feeling like it. I have never made so much money so fast.
You're working for it, not gambling. But when you've worked on a Tuesday and Wednesday and you get average orders, Friday and Saturday feels like a cash grab.
So many people would order food when the weekend came, and Uber needed more drivers, so pay would surge. You'd hear that "ping" sound a lot when you offered an order. It's like being a casino, you're hearing it all the time.
In 2023, though, my earnings started falling, and demand wasn't what it was in 2022. One day, I took a ride through Lyft as a passenger, and the driver just offered up that he had just made $500 in two days β a Monday and Tuesday, no less, which were some of my slowest days as a delivery worker. So I signed up with Uber and Lyft as a rideshare driver.
Justin St. James
Justin St. James
Uber and other technology companies use algorithms that are very sophisticated. There are parts of these apps that keep us hooked on them, which is in the interest of running a business. I love Netflix, but what are they trying to do by showing you another episode a few seconds after the last one?
To me, working for Uber felt similar.
It was addictive. You got a dopamine hit when the app offered you an order. It also encouraged you to keep working with surge pricing and heat maps that show where Uber says the most demand is.
At the same time, as drivers and delivery workers, we don't always get information from Uber that allows us to make critical decisions about whether a job is worth it. I wasn't always able to see exactly where you're picking up someone or dropping them off before I accepted a ride, which seems unbelievable.
One night, I picked up a guy as my last ride of the night. I didn't love the pay, but he was headed near where I lived.
When he got into my car, he asked, "How much did you get offered for this ride?" I told him it was about $7.50. It turns out that he was paying about $28 for the ride. He offered me $20 outside of the app to pick him up again later, but I declined.
I felt like somebody punched me in the chest.
That was a big shift for me. I was pissed, because not only was I getting less than half of the fare, I wasn't happy doing it.
In January, I decided to quit gig work. I left because I kept having conversations like the one with the guy who paid $28 for his ride.
I also had just moved to California from New York state. Where I am, there's a lot more drivers. Once, I took a ride with Lyft, and my driver showed me the map in the app. There were more drivers in one area than I was used to seeing. It also seems more competitive and harder to make decent money.
Now, I'm building a website to talk about my experience. The best part about ridesharing was talking to people, but it's really hard to do this work well if you're not getting paid well.
An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the company regularly looks for ways "to make the driver and courier experiences easier, safer, and more fair."
The spokesperson added that tools like the heat map are meant to help Uber's gig workers do their jobs and called any other description of them "inaccurate."
The spokesperson also referenced past calculations from Uber showing that Uber takes less than 20% of each fare after accounting for commercial insurance costs that the company pays.
Do you have a story to share about gig work? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says Uber could get cheaper if a recession comes.
REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
Rides and deliveries through Uber could get cheaper in a recession, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.
More people could sign up to work for the app, making Uber's labor costs lower, he said.
Uber is "recession-resistant," Khosrowshahi said.
Your ride to the airport or Friday-night dinner delivery through Uber might cost less if an economic downturn arrives, according to its CEO.
If the economy enters a recession, more people could sign up to drive and deliver for Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi said on Friday.
"If there is more unemployment, the cost of Uber will come down, because, to some extent, the cost of labor comes down," Khosrowshahi said at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Khosrowshahi said that Uber tends to be "recession-resistant" since many people still want groceries, restaurant delivery, rides around town, and other "everyday use cases" β even if they cut back spending in other areas.
"You may put off going on vacation in Europe this summer, but you're still going to treat your family to a nice dinner," he said. "We specialize in small treats, not big treats."
Consumers have turned to said small treats when the economy β and their income β have deteriorated in the past.
Lipstick sales, for instance, rose during the 2001 recession as some shoppers looked to makeup as an affordable luxury even as they avoided larger purchases.
Economists, executives, and others worry that a recession could be sparked this year by President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Many retailers and consumer brands have said that they will pass the costs of the tariffs to shoppers, leading to higher prices on store shelves and online after years of post-pandemic inflation.
While shoppers pulled back spending in many areas last year, many did keep paying to have what they bought delivered through services including DoorDash, Instacart, and Uber Eats, earnings reports at the time showed.
Getting work on Uber and other gig apps might not be so easy for laid-off workers and others in a recession, though.
Current gig workers have told Business Insider that many apps are already saturated with people looking to claim work, and that some even have wait lists for prospective independent contractors.
Do you have a story to share about Uber or other gig work apps? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or 808-854-4501.
Hasbro's CEO said that tariffs could hit consumer spending on games as hard as the 2008 recession.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Shoppers could pull back spending on toys due to tariffs, Hasbro's CEO said.
The tariffs could have as severe an effect as the 2008 recession, Christian Cocks said.
While consumers are still spending, companies are predicting fallout from Trump's duties.
Playtime could be over for one of the largest toy makers if tariffs stick around.
Hasbro, which makes Nerf dart guns and Play-Doh, expects shoppers to cut back on toy spending if President Donald Trump continues to impose tariffs of 145% on imports from China and 10% on goods from other nations.
The pullback could be as bad as it was during the Great Recession during the late 2000s, CEO Christian Cocks said during a company earnings call on Thursday.
"We see the impact to consumer spending on the toy category consistent with what happened with the 2008 and 2009 recession," Cocks said.
Back then, sales in the toy industry fell "roughly mid-single digits," he said.
Hasbro is the latest company to warn about potential ill effects from Trump's tariffs. Other consumer brands and retailers have said that they will likely raise the prices that consumers pay to offset the cost of the duties.
That, along with other fallout from the tariffs, could push the US into a recession, some economists have said.
For the moment, though, people continue to spend, with some even splashing out more to avoid tariff-related price increases.
While consumer confidence has fallen, for instance, data shows that shoppers have largely stuck to their spending plans. Even Hasbro's own first-quarter earnings came in ahead of analysts' expectations.
Not all of Hasbro's products will be hit evenly by the tariffs, Cocks said. While many of its toys are imported, it also makes board games like Monopoly, many of which are made domestically in Massachusetts, he said.
The company has also built a digital gaming business that drove much of its revenue increase during the first quarter.
