Eat-in deliveries grow faster than dining out

HOME deliveries of ready-toeat food grew 10 times faster than the eating out market last year, figures show.

The delivery sector jumped by almost 10 per cent to 599 million visits in Britain last year, while total visits out to restaurants and other dining venues rose by just one per cent, according to analysts NPD Group.

The delivery channel was worth £3.6 billion last year, six per cent up on 2015 and 50 per cent more than in 2008.

It is now estimated that Britons will spend almost £8bn a year on takeaways by the end of the decade as a surge in smartphone usage and time-pressed households cooking fewer meals boosts the country’s predilection for takeaway food.

NPD’s report questioned how long it would be before breakfast deliveries to the home or workplace becomes routine.

It noted that pubs were now part of the growth in home deliveries as they partnered with brands such as Deliveroo, Just Eat, Hungry House and UberEATS. British pubs only accounted for four per cent of the delivery market but increased their delivery visits by 59 per cent in 2016 on the previous year.

The study found the average bill for delivered food is nearly £1 lower than for a meal eaten in. However, the difference was bigger for some operators such as local Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Italian or Mexican restaurants at £12 for a meal on the premises versus £6.90 for delivery.

Cyril Lavenant, foodservice director for the UK at the NPD Group, said: “Ordering ready-to-eat food for delivery via an app or by phone is growing so fast that ‘eating in’ is becoming the new ‘eating out’.

“It goes beyond getting delivery of conventional takeaway food because full-service restaurants are delivering too.

“How soon will it be until we go beyond getting a basic take-away breakfast on the way to work and opt for a fancy breakfast delivered to our workplace or even order a breakfast to our home when we are not working?”