Food delivery apps have grown in popularity among consumers, who have been revealed to prefer mobile delivery platforms as opposed to in-house dining.
HungerRush, a global point-of-sale (POS) software platform provider for quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, has released results from its national consumer survey on food delivery ordering habits. The study has uncovered the opportunity for restaurants to leverage food delivery trends to maximise profits.
With rising operational, labour, and food costs, it's now more important than ever for restaurant operators to find strategic ways to grow their businesses. The study identified two clear areas for growth opportunity: online ordering and in-house delivery.
The report found that third-party food apps have provided additional revenue for restaurants, but they come with high fees that cut into profit margins. The good news is that although 66 percent of consumers report to using food ordering apps monthly, more than half (56 percent) said they are likely or somewhat likely to order directly from a restaurant instead of a third-party food app, depending on the user experience.
Fifty-one percent of consumers said that coupons and promotions were the deciding factor for them when contemplating ordering from a delivery service rather than in a restaurant directly, whilst 23 percent of consumers said that delivery tracking abilities were their priority. A further 16 percent of consumers said that enhanced user experience on the website or app was what they looked for.
The report examined the use of fees on online delivery services, and whether or not they deter consumers from using third-party food ordering apps. More than 67 percent of consumers said that they were at least sometimes deterred from using third-party apps because of the fees associated with using them.
These results revealed a large opportunity for restaurants to win more in-house delivery businesses when they provide a good user experience on online ordering and delivery platforms. Based on these results, choosing restaurant technology that can handle online orders, coupon and loyalty management, and delivery tracking is key in order to accomplish this.
While this study suggested that maximising online and in-house delivery orders is a good strategy, it also made clear that third-party food apps are here to stay. Twenty-nine percent of respondents reported that their third-party app usage has increased since last year.
