UK’s £4.2bn hunger for takeaway deliveries

THE amount we spend on ordering takeaways for home delivery has soared by 73 per cent in a decade, taking the figure to £4.2billion.

The rise of smartphone-based delivery companies, with their armies of couriers on bicycles and mopeds, has changed the way millions eat.

High street chains such as Jamie’s Italian, Byron, Prezzo and Strada have been forced to close outlets.

By contrast, digital firms such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and Hungry House are thriving by offering home delivery both from major chains and small independent outlets.

The food delivery market has grown from £2.4billion in 2008 to £4.2billion, according to analysts NPD Group.

There were some 673million deliveries in the past year. Chinese was the most popular at 179million, ahead of pizza at 171million, burgers at 82million and Indian at 70million.

Cyril Lavenant, of NPD, said: ‘Delivery is a big hit with consumers. Thanks to the apps they now have a very large choice of restaurants at their fingertips. It is also a great marketing platform, especially for independent restaurants that can’t afford to spend on advertising.’

NPD also found that pizza’s share of the market is falling while the home delivery of burgers is rising rapidly, with even McDonald’s now available on delivery websites.

There were 60 per cent more burger deliveries in 2017 than in 2016.