Delivery sales at restaurant and pub chains up 422% on pre-pandemic levels

The boom in food delivery demand shows little sign of slowing with restaurant and pub groups reporting sales of five times their pre-pandemic levels in January.

According to the latest CGA and Slerp Hospitality at Home tracker, large groups recorded a 422% increase in delivery sales by value last month compared to January 2019, while takeaway sales were up 29%.

The tracker uses data from restaurant partners including Byron, Dishoom, Gaucho, Honest Burgers, Nando's, Pizza Express and Wagamama.

Deliveries and takeaways accounted for nearly 30p in every pound spent at managed pubs and restaurant groups in January. Drinks orders are becoming increasingly popular, and were worth just over 9% of total delivery sales in January.

Karl Chessell, CGA's business unit director, said the data showed the delivery sector would continue to "flourish" after coronavirus concerns eased.

"Consumers have got used to the convenience and quality of at-home food and drink from restaurants and pubs, and many of them will not change their habits lightly, even as eating-out returns to pre-pandemic norms," said Chessell.

"The big challenge for businesses is to ensure that delivery sales are incremental rather than detrimental to their in-venue sales in 2022."

JP Then, founder of delivery platform Slerp, said businesses were increasingly embracing online ordering by building it into their marketing strategies around dates such as Valentine's Day or Lunar New Year.

"Operators are focused on building their book of customers to aid in email/SMS marketing campaigns to drive more repeat business," he said.

Other partners on the delivery tracker include Big Table Group, Giggling Squid and Rosa's Thai.

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