How restaurants are reclaiming their businesses in the era of food delivery
Food delivery was one of the fastest-growing verticals in 2020, providing safe, socially distanced, and convenient services to customers. According to Forrester, the ability of food delivery apps to provide this feature is the main reason why the market has gained so much momentum. Over the past two years, several mobile app verticals have seen increased connectivity as customers spend more time with their devices during the lockdown.
Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns limited the capacity of many restaurants or closed them completely, and millions of people ordered food online for the first time. Due to this increased demand, the delivery of food items has gone beyond anticipated.
The top four food delivery companies in the U.S. – DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats, and Postmates – generated nearly 5.5 billion in combined revenue between April and September 2020, more than double. Their combined revenue of $2.5 billion in the same period.
Despite mild restrictions and many restaurants gradually opening up for the dining experience. Consumers have maintained the habit of ordering through food delivery app development for restaurants in 2021.
Installs and sessions have grown steadily, and revenues are projected to reach new heights in global markets. The global market for application business projects or delivery applications will grow to $120 billion by the end of 2021, reaching $300 billion by 2027.
Even without the pandemic, food delivery application growth hasn’t slowed. The data reflects this as well, showing a steady upward trend in the growth of white label on-demand ordering & delivery app development, with no signs of slowing down.
Food & Drink Delivery App Still Growing
Global installations of food delivery software have increased by 25% in 2020 compared to 2019 and by 2121 so far in 2021. APAC installs were more impressive, up 37%, with an additional 6% increase this year. In North America, growth reached 30% in 2020 and increased by 10% in 2021. Compared to other regions, EMEA saw the lowest growth in 2020 with a growth of 12%, but the market is booming in 2021, up 37% so far this year.
Users have the taste to order
While the installations have been impressive, the sessions have been even more significant. Global sessions for food delivery apps increased by 88% in 2020 compared to 2019. And so far, in 2021, global sessions have risen by a further 43%.
Taking a look at the regions again, the session in APAC continued into 2021, up 128% in 2020 compared to 2019 and up 42% by the end of Q3. Similarly, sessions in North America increased by 122% in 2020 and a further 45% in 2021. While not as significant as the others, EMEA also saw a significant increase in sessions, 41% and 42% in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
As sessions and establishments increase, the average session duration across regions increases. The global average session length was 11.03 minutes in 2019. Which increased significantly to 12.85 minutes in 2020 and 13.59 so far in 2021.
The average duration of a session of APAC increased by 9.74 minutes in 2019, 12.05 in 2020 and 12.69 in 2021. EMEA registered a significant growth of 9.93 in 2019, 10.45 in 2020 and 11.3 in 2021.
The future of food and beverage delivery applications
Life in pandemics and lockdowns has led to the evolution of how we consume products and buy food. The need for secure, easily accessible and convenient services fits perfectly with the existing models offered by food delivery applications.
The industry has successfully propelled itself by optimizing its services to meet the growing demand. By providing a user-friendly experience, on-demand food delivery app development has positioned themselves brilliantly – leaving users hungry for more.
As markets take shape in the post-pandemic world, food delivery applications are set to grow and evolve. To grow, apps need to partner with restaurants and vendors. That best fit their user needs and find clever ways to promote continued use in this more competitive space.
Developing loyalty programs, offering coupons or digital stamp cards, or investing in gamification are examples of methods. You can use in successful user acquisition and retention strategies in the food delivery vertical.
Contactless Customer Service Experience
Health, hygiene and food safety awareness will be more important than ever for restaurant operators and their employees and customers. So, it is very likely that even non-contact transactions are here to stay.
Businesses across all industries need to upgrade technology to provide customers with contactless payment options and no contact delivery options. In the case of self-service kiosks, this means you have to make sure to clean them with alcohol in between customers so that they can rest immediately.
While kiosks are a good option to avoid handling cash and human contact alike. People have to be very careful about touching the screen to order their food. Suppose they are not sure that proper hygiene precautions have been taken.
In that case, they will most likely choose to take orders from a real person (by phone) or use their own mobile devices. Which leads us to the next possible change in delivery Leads: Mobile-ordering technology.
Mobile ordering technology
Mobile ordering technology will become the new standard for the restaurant industry. The white label food delivery app development will continue to do well by combining. The need for convenience with safety and health concerns. The restaurant will have to commit to ordering online through its website or app or a third party such as Uber Eats, etc.
Whether restaurants handle delivery and take-away on their own or with the help of a third-party delivery service provider. They need to streamline their operations so that they can handle this new type of order as efficiently as possible.
Local products and community support
Throughout this ordeal, people have wondered how to best support local communities and businesses. There is a high chance that this sense of community will go nowhere in the future. Consumers were already leaning towards locally sourced food and sustainable, organic sources. This desire to buy is sustainable as their local restaurant’s struggle for survival and a sense of supporting their favourite businesses will grow.
