Food Delivery Apps are Leaving too Many Opportunities on the Dining Table

Food delivery apps - the best ecommerce success story of the past decade, are on the rise. Although some online food delivery services can claim a heritage going back to the 1990s, this sector has grown dramatically during the 2010s as the use of apps on smartphones became normalized.

The sector has created a simple platform for restaurants to offer a delivery service to local customers. Food delivery existed before these apps, but it generally required direct contact with a specific restaurant. These platforms allow customers to choose from a wide variety of restaurants in their local area.

The TP Business Insights Lab's research shows that food delivery apps are extremely popular and there is an opportunity for strong market growth. 77% of millennials are already using these apps and 28% of our millennial respondents plan to spend more on food delivery services in the future.

Food delivery apps were boosted by the stay-at-home orders and lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic increasing our ecommerce success story, but our research indicates that there will not be a post-COVID-19 decline in use. If anything, its current state as an ecommerce success story is rooted as the pandemic demonstrated to more customers how useful these apps can be and they are increasingly an important lifestyle choice for some demographic groups.

Before the pandemic, food delivery was already a convenient way to enjoy a meal. After the pandemic began, these services were often the only option for consumers to appreciate a meal from their favorite restaurants. With more people swayed by the service and convenience, restrictions and lockdowns compelled many business owners to partner with these apps to stay afloat during the crisis. However, in a market that is becoming increasingly competitive, food delivery apps must rely on more than convenience to retain consumers.

Key observations from our research include:

• Bigger wallet share
• Heavy contact volumes
• High bot compatibility
• Room to grow channel options
• In-app and IM lead on CSAT

Our research demonstrates that there is a clear opportunity for more growth in this sector and that most brands are not delivering the expected level of customer satisfaction. If a customer was satisfied with their last interaction with your brand, then they are almost 70% more likely to welcome conversations about upgrading their account or adding services. Maintaining customer satisfaction is also the key to future sales.

This is a sector that is full of opportunity because the customer satisfaction at present is merely average. Food delivery apps, as an ecommerce success story, are leaving many opportunities on the table for growth and new revenue streams. If you want to enjoy this industry growth, then it’s time to rethink your customer strategy.

The TP Business Insights Lab is Teleperformance’s research center dedicated to monitoring changing behaviors and expectations of consumers globally to help companies improve their customer service strategies and ecommerce customer services.

 
The latest survey features participants from 13 different countries and analyzed 19 different industries, totaling 51,919 interviews. We conducted 2,664 interviews with end-users of food delivery apps in all 13 countries included in the survey.

Please click here to download the complete white paper “Food Delivery Apps are Leaving Too Many Opportunities on the Dining Table” from the TP Business Insights Lab.