18Apr
Food Delivery Statistics Every Restaurant Should Know About

2020 has been quite a year for food delivery from restaurants. Off-premise dining has surged in popularity due to COVID-19 restrictions on on-premise dining. The success of food delivery has proven that demand is here to stay.

We’ve compiled food delivery statistics to help you better understand the importance of the channel and key trends surrounding this revenue stream for restaurants. You’ll find these facts and figures organized into the following categories:

  • Stats about the rise of food delivery
  • Food delivery statistics about consumer habits
  • Direct ordering versus third-party food delivery statistics
  • Stats about COVID-19 and food delivery
  • Food delivery statistics about customer service

THE RISE OF FOOD DELIVERY

  1. In 1994 Pizza Hut launched the first online ordering service. 
  2. Customers spend $11 billion on pizza delivery per year.
  3. One in three Americans uses a food delivery service at least weekly.
  4. Every year, the U.S. food delivery market grows 20%. 
  5. By the end of 2021, the online food delivery market is expected to reach $26 billion in revenue.
  6. Currently, there are 45.6 million people who use mobile food delivery apps. That number is expected to reach 53.9 million by 2023. 
  7. In 2030, China will have the largest market for online food ordering. Its local industry currently creates $51 billion in revenue. 
  8. The United States is the second-largest consumer of online food ordering. 
  9. 60% of restaurateurs report that offering delivery has led to an increase in revenue. 

FOOD DELIVERY STATISTICS ABOUT CONSUMER HABITS

  1. One in three food delivery consumers is a millennial. 
  2. People feel comfortable waiting up to 40 minutes for food delivery. 
  3. The minimum distance people would choose delivery over takeout is 1.5 miles. 
  4. People don’t want to pay more than $8.50 total for delivery fees, service fees, and gratuities. 
  5. 48% of customers feel comfortable sharing their data with restaurants in order to receive a discount on off-premise dining. 

DIRECT VERSUS THIRD-PARTY FOOD DELIVERY STATISTICS

  1. The online food delivery market’s largest segment is direct-to-consumer ordering (as opposed to third-party ordering). In the United States, this segment will have generated almost $16 billion in revenue by the end of 2020. 
  2. On average, people have two delivery apps on their phones and use them three times per month. 
  3. 78% of off-premise orders are placed directly, while 22% are placed through third-party platforms.
  4. On average, third-party online ordering platforms take a 30% commission from each order. 
  5. 30% of American diners who don’t use third-party online ordering apps avoid them specifically because they want to support restaurants directly. 

COVID-19 FOOD DELIVERY STATISTICS

  1. 23% of people say they will only order for pickup or delivery for the rest of 2020, rather than dining on-premise. 
  2. 51% of Americans feel comfortable ordering for pick-up during the pandemic. 
  3. 43% of Americans feel comfortable ordering delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  4. More than one in four consumers don’t feel comfortable dining out until there is a COVID-19 vaccine.
  5. In 2020, more than 45 million Americans used a food delivery app, which is a 25% increase since the previous year. 
  6. Grubhub grew its customer base by 35% between 2019 and 2020. 
  7. Research predicts that there will be a 3.3% dip in online ordering in 2021 after indoor dining picks back up at full capacity.
  8. In 2020, two in five restaurants began offering food delivery services because of pandemic-related closures. 
  9. Three in 10 restaurateurs predict that off-premise demand will remain at pandemic levels even after the pandemic ends. 
  10. Order sizes on third-party delivery platforms increased during the pandemic. Grubhub saw a 20% rise in average order size compared to 2019. 
  11. DoorDash saw its average order size increase from $33 in January 2020 to $36 in June 2020.

FOOD DELIVERY STATISTICS ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE

  1. The most common complaint that customers have about food delivery is their food not being warm enough or fresh enough when it arrives. 
  2. 85% of people want restaurants to use tamper-evident labels to reduce instances of drivers taking food from their orders. 
  3. 63% of people are more likely to tip digitally through a delivery app, rather than in-person with cash. 
  4. 60% of deliverers say a low or no tip as their biggest gripe about the job. 
  5. 53% of people tip more in inclement weather.
  6. If an order goes wrong, four in five people point blame at the restaurants instead of at the delivery services. 
  7. One in three delivery customers says that they’ve had delivery drivers pass them food through a car window rather than bringing the food to their front doors.
  8. Almost three in 10 customers say they’ve had delivery drivers object to delivering orders to their front doors. 
  9. 17% of people have had delivery drivers place their food outside of their doors and leave. 
  10. Consumers think that delivery drivers (54%) are more deserving of tips than servers (47%). 
  11. Customers and delivery drivers think that $4 is a suitable tip for deliveries.

WRAPPING UP: THESE FOOD DELIVERY STATISTICS SHOW THAT DELIVERY IS HERE TO STAY

Trends show that food delivery was on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic struck in early 2020, it accelerated the growth of the off-premise dining market. With consumer habits changing, delivery is here to stay even after the pandemic becomes a distant memory.

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Sources:

1 – “Online Food Delivery” by Statistia

2 – “2020 Food Delivery Service Statistics You Need to Know” by Beambox

3 – “How to Get Started with Restaurant Delivery and Take-Out” by SevenRooms

4 – “New Study Shows What Consumers Crave in a Food Delivery Service” by US Foods

5 – “More Consumers Are Turning to Food Delivery Apps amid Indoor Dining Restrictions” by eMarketer

6 – “4 Trends Defining Delivery During COVID-19” by Restaurant Business Online