£4BN BLOWOUT Brits stuffing their faces on ‘door drop’ takeaways
HUNGRY Brits are blowing £4.2billion a year on takeaway food.
Spending on doorstep deliveries has gone up 73% in 10 years.
Experts say the rise is down to takeaway services now being available on phone apps.
The figures emerged from research by industry analysts The NPD Group.
Spokesman Cyril Lavenant said: “Delivery is a big hit with consumers.
“Thanks to the apps they now have a very large choice of restaurants at their fingertips. Phone apps also make it easier for consumers to order meals from a variety of cuisines.
“Just one app could offer a choice of either burgers or chicken or Indian or Chinese and much more. It’s all there at a click of a button.”
Popular apps include Deliveroo, Just Eat, Hungryhouse and UberEats.
Cities ordering the most include London, Brighton, Manchester, Bristol and Leeds. In 2017, 179million servings of Chinese food were delivered as well as 171m servings of pizza and 82m burgers.
The delivery market is tipped to grow by another 17% over the next two years to as much as £5bn.
But experts have warned that the shift in consumer habits is hammering the restaurant trade.
Research shows people order less when they get a takeaway.
When ordering for home they tend to shun starters, desserts and drinks, meaning they spend around half as much as they would if they ate in at a venue.
Restaurants must also pay commission to delivery drivers. In recent months a string of chains have closed branches including Jamie’s Italian, Byron and Prezzo.
Cyril added: “Larger foodservice operators are responding well to the takeaway boom but know they need to manage the demand very carefully.
“With consumers spending around half as much as when they visit a restaurant in person, a delivery order is potentially less lucrative to a large foodservice business and can reduce an operator’s profitability.
“Restaurants also must pay commission to the delivery company and this hits profits too. Whatever way you look at it, delivery is changing the shape of Britain’s foodservice industry.”