The pandemic has been a blessing for online food delivery companies and restaurants. The restrictions and lockdown forced restaurants to close their on-premise dining and move to online delivery.
And while we were busy working from home, many of us turned to smartphones and PCs to order food instead of just cooking ourselves. Uber Eats, Zomato, DoorDash, Deliveroo, and Foodpanda have all reported a massive increase in online orders.
We’ve compiled a list of the most impressive online food ordering statistics for you so that you can discover the latest online delivery trends, most popular apps, the industry’s value, and more.
Let’s get started.
Staggering Food Delivery App Statistics in 2022 (Editor’s Choice)
- Since 2014, the online food delivery business has expanded at a rate that’s three times that of dine-in traffic.
- During the pandemic, 58% of individuals were hesitant to dine at a restaurant.
- In 2020, 111 million individuals in the US meal delivery apps.
- 60% of people in the US order delivery or takeout once a week (or more).
- One-third of customers don’t mind paying more for speedier delivery service.
- About 46% of online orders include a deal, discount, or coupon.
- Still, around 20% of consumers say they spend more on off-premise orders than they do on regular dine-in experiences.
- Projections say the online food delivery industry will be worth $365 billion by 2030.
Online Food Ordering Statistics in 2022
The food delivery market has significantly grown in the past couple of years. It should come as no surprise—ordering meals online is easy, saves time, and keeps you from having to contact strangers if you’re socially awkward.
A lifesaver, right?
Now, let’s dive deep into some of the latest food delivery app statistics.
1. 60% of people in the US now order delivery or takeout at least once a week.
(Source: Business Of Apps)
Yes, you read it right. No matter if it’s takeout or restaurant delivery, Americans love ordering food. But they seem to love it now more than ever.
Looking at food delivery app statistics, the number of users nearly doubled in five years. Back in 2015, there were only 66 million users in the country, with the number of subscribers rising slowly year by year.
But then COVID-19 rolled around and provoked a dramatic increase in the food delivery market size. We’re talking 16 million new users in just one year, meaning that 111 million people across the country used food delivery services in 2020.
And they don’t seem to mind spending money on it—34% of users say they fork out no less than $50 per order (which is more than what they would typically spend if they were eating out).
2. The younger the person, the more likely they are to use a food delivery service.
(Source: Gloria Food)
Let’s get down to food delivery demographics.
In 2018, 55% of internet users in the 18-24 age group admitted to ordering a restaurant meal online. And the same is true for 49% of internet users in their late twenties and early thirties.
As the age increases, the percentage of usage gradually decreases. For instance, only 17% of internauts who are older than 65 do their food ordering online.
Fun fact: 57% of millennials have food delivered when they intend to watch movies and TV shows at home.
3. The more people earn, the less likely they are to order food online.
(Source: Zion and Zion)
Segmenting food delivery app users by income reveals that 51.6% of people who earn less than $10,000 per year order more food online.
But food delivery app statistics show that the higher the user’s income, the lower the usage. So, that percentage keeps on gradually diminishing as the average earnings increase until you get that only 25.3% of people with a $150,000-$175,000 annual income are food delivery app users.
The number rises after that, but still—the percentage of subscribers who earn more than $200,000 (39.6%) is no match for the 51.6% we mentioned above.
4. Satisfying the demand for pizza in the US requires the hard work of 6,852 delivery employees.
(Source: Zippia)
The numbers from pizza delivery statistics suggest that the person who delivers your pizza is probably a 47-year-old white man.
Fun fact: A pizza deliverer can earn more than $49,000, though the average salary is a bit less than $33,000.
Food Delivery App Industry
Did you know that the first recorded food delivery in history happened in the eighteenth century?
Legend has it that King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy ordered three pizzas when they visited Italy. The famous pizza maker, Raffaele Esposito, delivered the goodies himself and even named the queen’s favorite after her.
Of course, the food delivery industry has come a long way since then—and we have the stats to prove it.
5. The first food delivery app appeared in 1995.
It was a website, actually: waiter.com by WorldWideWaiter. Back then, the site let you order food from 60 restaurants.
However, the first online food order happened a few years before waiter.com came to be.
PizzaHut developed a different website, PizzaNet, and delivered a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza with extra cheese to the first-ever online customer.
6. As of 2020, the global food delivery services market was worth $115.07 billion.
(Source: PR Newswire)
Looking at food delivery industry statistics, the online food delivery services worldwide generated around $136.6 billion in revenue in 2020.
The latest projections say 2022 will close with more than $150 billion in revenue and a $127 billion market value.
If the same trend continues, the global food delivery services will boast a $183 billion revenue by 2024, and a $192 billion market value by 2025.
7. Uber Eats is the most popular food delivery app outside of the US.
(Source: Business of Apps)
It’s hard to say which is the best food delivery app for customers, as it’s kind of a subjective and geographically dependent choice. What we can say, though, is that Uber Eats is certainly the most popular one around the globe.
It holds 29% of the global market, has 66 million users, is available in 6,000 cities across 45 countries, and supports 600,000+ restaurants.
Fun fact: Despite its annual revenue rounding the $5 billion mark, Uber Eats isn’t profitable. At all. On the bright side, Uber Eats statistics show that the company’s yearly losses have been consistently decreasing over the years, so maybe, if the trend continues, it will return a profit at some point.
8. DoorDash is still the market leader in the US.
(Source: Business of Apps)
The Uber Eats vs DoorDash national market share competition was pretty tight a few years back—now, not so much. Although Uber Eats is the top dog internationally, it’s a completely different matter in the US.
In 2016, each of the two apps owned a 5% market share, with Grubhub hoarding most of the market (70%). However, as the years passed, both Uber Eats and DoorDash became the top food delivery apps in the nation, while Grubhub’s market control took a dive.
By 2019, Grubhub’s market share was just 20%, whereas the other two companies boasted a 30% share each. Now, though, DoorDash accounts for 55% of the online food delivery services market in the US, and Uber Eats follows with a 22% share.
9. Grubhub statistics say the app is not out of the game just yet.
(Source: Business of Apps)
Despite facing serious competition from Uber Eats and DoorDash, Grubhub’s user base continues to grow.
In 2020, Grubhub fulfilled an average of 622,700 orders per day for its 31.4 million users, which is a definite improvement to the previous year’s 492,300 daily orders and 22.6 million subscribers.
That said, Grubhub’s food delivery market share is down to just 18%, and annual losses are the lowest-ever for the food ordering app (-$155 million).
10. The US food delivery industry generated $26.5 billion in revenue in 2020.
(Source: Business Of Apps)
To say that the food delivery industry has grown would be an understatement, given that its annual revenue more than tripled in just five years. The industry’s revenue in the US was only $8.7 billion in 2015, $16.8 billion in 2018, and suddenly ten billion more in 2020.
Frankly, It’s amazing how much the pandemic has increased food delivery.
Before COVID-19, projections showed the online food deliveries accounting for just 9% of the US restaurant market in 2021, but the pandemic helped the industry grow by 4%.
According to the newest online food ordering statistics, the industry will account for 21% of the US restaurant market by 2025.
Online Food Ordering Trends
What’s next for food delivery apps? What are they doing in terms of innovation? Who are other players in the online food ordering industry?
Let’s find out.
11. Online grocery shopping is more popular now than ever.
(Source: Statista, Statista)
People don’t only order restaurant meals. Nowadays, you can do grocery shopping online, too, or even have someone drop off your favorite alcoholic beverage right on your doorstep—there’s an app for everything now.
Grocery delivery statistics show the industry’s monthly revenue in the US went from $1.2 billion in August 2019 to $6.4 billion in October 2021.
The latest projections show that the online food and beverage industry’s annual revenue will reach $25.7 billion by 2025.
12. The US meal-kit business is also on the rise.
(Source: Linch Pin SEO)
More people than you think have (at least) tried this mode of food delivery. For instance, 29% of millennials, 23% of males, and 25% of the people who live in cities have given it a try.
Meal kit statistics reveal that the industry’s worth is currently around $5 billion, but it could surpass the $11 billion mark in 2022.
13. The Chinese food delivery market is booming.
(Source: Statista)
More than 40% of the country’s internet users (419 million people) use apps to get food, making China the biggest online food delivery market in the world.
In fact, online food ordering statistics say about one-third of the people in China prefer to order food rather than eat out.
The top players in the Asian country are Tencent’s Meituan and Alibaba’s Eleme. Both apps integrate with digital payment systems (like Alipay), have jaw-dropping low fees, and are all for sustainable packaging. Pretty cool, huh?
14. Some food delivery apps are crypto-friendly.
(Source: Bloomberg)
In some places around the globe, crypto food ordering is a thing. For instance, with Takeaway (the Netherlands), Shuttledelivery (South Korea), and Lieferando.de (Germany), you can order your food online and pay with bitcoins.
The truth is, cryptos are slowly gaining ground and becoming an acceptable payment method—even in the food industry.
In El Salvador, big restaurant chains like Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut have started accepting bitcoin payments after the country officially adopted the cryptocurrency.
15. Automated delivery? Coming right up.
(Source: Forbes)
Popular brands started thinking about automated alternatives to bring their food to you in 2019. Rumour has it, Domino’s and Chipotle are looking into Nuro’s self-driving vehicles, whereas Chick-fil-A turned towards Kiwibot’s delivery robots.
What about food delivery via drones?
Uber was working on it but then left it to Flytrex. The company recently partnered with El Pollo Loco, It’s Just Wings, and other national restaurant chains, but there’s not much information available yet.
Wrap Up
Companies are battling it out, trying to keep afloat and become the best food delivery app in the market—but if you ask us, the best is yet to come.
The online food ordering statistics above show that the industry is rapidly evolving, going from traditional door-to-door delivery to drones and crypto payments.
But what do you think will be the next innovation?
We guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Until then, happy ordering!
Sources
Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.
