The Best Online Ordering Stats from 2021
Last year was a crazy year for everyone, but the impact it had on the food industry was a double edged sword. Walk in business naturally took a huge hit but online ordering as a concept and technology came on leaps and bounds. Online ordering has helped shape a new landscape in how restaurants and food service businesses communicate and engage with customers. In struggle comes opportunity, with loss can come profit and online ordering technology has encouraged, and in some cases forced, restaurants to really evaluate how to maximize revenue and usher in a new age in the food revolution.
Last year was a tremendous year to accumulate data for online ordering, helping restaurants to understand trends better, consumer habits and what directions they need to take their business and what elements to focus on. MENUU has been scouring the internet for some of the most useful and insightful information gathered last year. Check out the list below to see how things have gone in 2021, perhaps it will provide some idea for the year ahead.
1/ Percentage of consumers say carry out is essential to their lifestyle.
All adults: 53%
Gen Z: 54%
Gen X: 57%
Millennials: 64%
Baby boomers: 43%
2/ Photo-based menus on an online ordering platform versus text-based menus increase conversion rate by 25% or more
3/ It is projected that online ordering food revenue will rise to be $220 billion in 2023 - 40% of restaurant sales.
4/ Restaurant chains that choose to manage their own deliveries can increase their profitability by 30% per food order.
5/ Digital ordering and delivery have been growing 300% than dine-in traffic since 2014.
6/ Digital orders have increased by 135% since June 2020.
7/ 70% of consumers prefer to order directly from a restaurant.
8/ 48% of consumers believe it is cheaper to order directly from a restaurant than through third-party apps.
9/ 46% of consumers expect restaurants to offer online/mobile ordering.
10/ 84% of consumers currently order delivery or takeout once a week.
11/ 57% of consumers are ordering delivery or takeout once or twice a week.
12/ Online order tickets average 30% higher than orders placed in-person or called in.
13/ 55% of people prefer to order without having to interact with a person.
14/ Adding high-quality photos to your online page is guaranteed to boost sales by up to 30%.
15/ Items that have photos next to them average an increase of 6.5% in sales compared to those without.
16/ 34% of consumers will spend as much as $50 per order when ordering online.
17/ Loyalty members spend twice as much on takeout orders.
18/ 33% of people say many restaurants do not have their own ordering sites.
19/ A recent study from the National Restaurant Association and Technomic states:
20/ 56% of consumers place orders via a restaurant's website, but only 45% of operators offer this option.
21/ 43% of delivery users placed orders via a restaurant's app, but only 18% offer mobile ordering via their own app.
22/ There is a disconnect between consumers and operators, and to stay competitive, you must begin to adapt to off-premise offerings.
23/ Curbside pickup has become the standard practice for all restaurants, big or small. It has increased by 208% in the past year, and consumers want restaurants to continue offering this post-pandemic.
24/ 45% of consumers say that offering mobile ordering or loyalty programs would encourage them to use online ordering services more often.
25/ 60% of restaurant operators say that offering delivery has generated incremental sales.
26/ Delivery sales could rise an annual average of more than 20% to $365 billion worldwide by 2030, from $35 billion.
27/ 43% of restaurant professionals said they believe third-party apps—many of which withhold data—interfere with the direct relationship between a restaurant/bar/pub and its customers.
If you find any of the above information interesting and presenting some ideas you wish to investigate further, please setup a call with one of our online ordering experts for a quick chat here.
