Food delivery habits are changing, as hungry customers are reining in spending while still opting for the convenience of the major delivery apps.
The Wall Street Journal reports that while spending is still up for apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats, growth has slowed. Analysts and executives are pointing to cautious spending among app users — more in-store pick-up orders and fewer overall items have been seen in orders, as people are looking to cut costs. Some users are also turning their attention away from pricer eateries toward fast food restaurants.
DoorDash CFO Prabir Adarkar said last month that while food delivery remains part of customers’ daily lives, “they are just adjusting their behavior.”
The apps saw major growth in the earlier phases of the Covid pandemic, but that growth has cooled — perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the circumstances. DoorDash shares are down 69 percent this year, Uber as a whole is down 41 percent, and JustEat — which owns GrubHub — is down 58 percent.
The WSJ’s report also notes that DoorDash and Uber Eats control 90 percent of the U.S. market, so some other apps may get left behind as growth slows. JustEat has been mulling a sale of GrubHub for most of the year.
For more info, see the WSJ’s full article.