Compare the cost of curbside pickup and home delivery.
Pickup looks free and delivery looks expensive, but only one of those has its cost printed on the receipt. Driving to collect an order carries a real per-mile cost — fuel plus the share of tyres, servicing and depreciation that mileage causes, commonly around 30 to 40 cents a mile for a typical car. Delivery's cost is the fee plus the tip, and the tip is the part people leave out of the comparison even though it is usually the larger half. Once both sides are stated per order, a short trip favours pickup and anything beyond about ten miles round trip often favours delivery outright.
Pickup cost
Pickup = pickup fee + round trip miles x vehicle cost per mile
Delivery cost
Delivery = delivery fee + tip
Mileage consumes tyres, brakes, oil and the vehicle's resale value, not only fuel. Fuel alone is typically only a third to a half of the true marginal cost of driving. Using a fuel-only figure systematically makes pickup look cheaper than it is.
If you tip, it is part of what the service costs you, and it is usually the largest single component. Comparing a delivery fee against pickup while omitting the tip is the most common error in this decision — the fee alone often understates delivery by half.