We’re spending more time at home. We’ve already seen the shift from big-screen movie theatres to at-home digital streaming. And we’re starting to see a similar shift from dining out at restaurants to ordering food delivery.
Knowing that food delivery was becoming popular, we were curious about which food delivery services were most used, which has the most disappointments, and what was the most frequently ordered meal. We asked these questions and more to an independent panel of consumers to better understand how people are using food delivery services.
Paste this Image on Your Site!
Simply copy and paste the code below and you can share this infographic on your site:
[fdembed]
Food Delivery is on the Rise
There is an uptick in food delivery both in the millennial demographic and in the 35-44 age group. “We forecast delivery to grow from $43 billion in 2017 to $76 billion in 2022, 12% annually over the next five years,” said Cowen chief analyst Andrew Charles.
As with most industries that have been disrupted, this growth is widely attributed to tech advancements. “As mobile food delivery apps like Seamless, UberEats, Caviar, and Postmates steadily expand their delivery zones and their customer bases, many restaurants are increasingly relying on delivery orders as a significant source of revenue,” says Eater. These apps are providing access to a range of meal types so that you can get delivery of everything from a fast-food cheeseburger to hand-stuffed tortellini.
But also, today’s renters are increasingly investing in luxury apartment rentals, so ordering in makes sense. When your apartment is so swank, who wouldn’t want to spend more time entertaining friends at home with a spread of apps from a local restaurant or chilling in your PJs with take-out?
Preferred Food Delivery Service and Meal Type
The LA Times reports: “For many Los Angeles restaurants, app-enabled food delivery services have gone from being an afterthought to a core part of their business, with restaurateurs realizing that smartphone apps don’t cause a drop-off in dine-in customers, but instead help grow a new customer base.”
With local restaurants seeing a 6% to 15% increase in sales after partnering with a delivery app, we were curious to learn which food delivery services were the most popular across the nation.
Preferred Food Delivery Service
Grubhub 35%
Uber Eats 27%
Local Shop/Restaurant 11%
Other 9%
DoorDash 7%
Pizza Chain 4%
Eat24 4%
Seamless 3%
Grubhub leads with 35% of respondents citing the app as their preferred food delivery service. While it’s popular now, Cowen predicts that Grubhub’s popularity will continue to increase with a 22% annual revenue growth in the next five years.
But while preferred meal types are diversifying, pizza delivery and Asian food remain the preferred meal types for delivery.
Preferred Food Delivery Meal Type
Pizza 49%
Asian 18%
Burgers/Sandwiches 12%
Mexican 10%
Italian 4%
Mediterranean 3%
Indian 2%
Other 2%
Food Delivery Order Frequency
The most common frequency for ordering food delivery is once a week at 25%. The next most common is once per month at 23%. At the far ends of the spectrum, we see lower rates for frequent customers who get food delivered multiple times per week and infrequent customers who order in less than once a month.
How Often Do You Order Food Delivery?
Multiple times per week 16%
Once a week 25%
Multiple times a month 20%
About once a month 23%
Less than once a month 16%
Yet when looking at order frequency as it relates to service usage, we’re able to deduce that the people who frequently get food delivered have different service preferences than infrequent customers.
While Grubhub is popular across all order frequencies, Uber Eats is popular for people who order once a week. For people who order directly from the local shop or restaurant, the most common order frequency is once a month.
Disappointments of Food Delivery
Respondents report that typical disappointments are that the food is cold, it’s missing sauces, or they received the incorrect order. As to late deliveries, the majority of comments say that the food was only five to ten minutes late.
But even after accounting for usage rates, Grubhub has the most problems with food quality/temperature.
Problems With Food Quality or Temperature
Grubhub 55%
Uber Eats 32%
Other 5%
Local Shop/Restaurant 4%
DoorDash 2%
Eat24 1%
Pizza Chain Less than 1%
Seamless Less than 1%
Late delivery is much less common than food quality problems. In fact, it’s 19 times more likely that customers have problems with food quality than with their food being late.
As to how each food delivery company ranked on timeliness, Uber Eats has the most problems with late delivery.
Problems With Late Delivery
GrubHub 26%
Uber Eats 59%
Other 3%
Local Shop/Restaurant Less than 1%
DoorDash 8%
Eat24 1%
Pizza Chain Less than 1%
Seamless 2%
More Food for Less Money
Using coupons is common when getting food delivered. While 11% use coupons for their first order only, 48% regularly use coupons for their order.
Food Deliveries Beyond Takeout
While ordering a takeout meal may be a classic choice for food delivery, it’s far from the only option. Home grocery delivery is fast on the rise. Currently about 25% of U.S. households buy at least some of their groceries online, and it’s expected to grow to 70% within 10 years.
Meal kit subscriptions are also a popular choice. As a hybrid between takeout and grocery delivery, meal kits are a great timesaver for people who have busy lives but who also want to use their apartment kitchens.