Deliveries and takeaway sales double pre-COVID-19 levels

This is despite an overall dip of 2% in 2022 sales compared to December 2021.

Delivery and takeaway sales of managed restaurant groups’ in December 2022 doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels or 104% higher than in December 2019,  NielsenIQ’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker revealed.

Deliveries were up 238%, with takeaway and click-and-collect orders 53% ahead in 2022.

According to NielsenIQ, the figures show how lockdowns and the convenience of delivery platforms have transformed the market for restaurants, long after the end of COVID restrictions in Britain. Managed groups received just over 24% of their total sales from deliveries and takeaways in December, the Hospitality at Home Tracker shows. It also highlights the increasing importance of drinks, which now account for 10% of all at-home orders.

Despite this increase, compared to 2021, the Tracker shows total delivery and takeaway sales in 2022 were 2% behind December 2021—the 14th month of a year-on-year decline in a row.

“After booming in 2020 and 2021, it was a year of consolidation for the delivery and takeaway sector. A return to eating out and a squeeze on consumer spending both contributed to the plateauing of sales throughout 2022. Nevertheless, with nearly a quarter of all sales now coming from at-home orders, COVID has cemented food and drink deliveries in people’s habits. The big challenge for all restaurant groups in 2023 is to protect sales and margins on third-party delivery platforms without compromising eat-in trade,” Karl Chessell, CGA director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said.

The CGA Hospitality at Home Tracker is a source of data and insight for the delivery and takeaway market. It provides monthly reports on the value and volume of sales, with year-on-year comparisons and splits between food and drinks revenue.