STUDY: How Restaurants Can Increase Profits with Online Orders, In-House Food Delivery

HungerRush released results today for a national consumer survey on food delivery ordering habits. The study uncovers the opportunity for restaurants to leverage food delivery trends to maximize profits.

With rising operational, labor, and food costs, it's now more important than ever for restaurant operators to find strategic ways to grow their business. The study identifies two clear areas for growth opportunity; Online ordering and in-house delivery.

Maximizing Online Orders 

Third-party food apps provide additional revenue for restaurants, but they come with high fees that cut into profit margins. The good news is that although 66% of consumers report that they use food ordering apps monthly, more than half (56%) say they are likely or somewhat likely to order directly from a restaurant instead of a third-party food app, depending on the user experience.

What factors into a consumer’s choice between ordering delivery directly from a restaurant vs. a food delivery app?

• 51% say coupons and promotions
• 23% say increased delivery tracking abilities
• 16% say enhanced user experience on the website or app
   

Do fees deter consumers from using third-party food ordering apps?
67% of consumers are at least sometimes deterred from using third-party apps because of the fees associated with using them (of which 35% are definitely deterred).

These results reveal a large opportunity for restaurants to win more in-house delivery business when they provide a good user experience on their own online ordering and delivery platforms. Based on these results, choosing restaurant technology that can handle online orders, coupon and loyalty management, and delivery tracking is key in order to accomplish this.

Here to Stay

While this study suggests it’s a good strategy to maximize online and in-house delivery orders, it’s also clear that third-party food apps are here to stay. 29% of respondents reported that their third-party app usage has increased since last year.

• How many times a month do consumers order from food apps, excluding grocery delivery?
  54% order 1-4 times a month and 12% order 5 or more times a month.
   
• What are the most popular food-ordering apps?
  50% of diners opt to use DoorDash, making it the most popular third-party food delivery app, followed by Uber Eats with 39%.

• What age group orders from food delivery apps the most?
  62% of Baby Boomers reported that they do not use third-party delivery apps. 71% of Gen-Z reported that they use apps up to 4 times a month (36% 1-2 times and 35% are using apps 3-4 times a month).

These findings suggest it’s important restaurants choose technology that can handle both in-house and food app delivery options with ease to ensure no orders are left on the table.

“It’s never been more critical for restaurants of all sizes to find the right tech solutions to grow their business. The current quick service and fast casual dining landscape faces many challenges,” said Bill Mitchell, Executive Chairman of HungerRush, and former President of Global Operations of Papa John’s International. “Based on our expertise and this study's findings, we believe there is a lot of continued growth potential in food delivery. That’s why we advise restaurants to choose tech that gives customers multiple ordering options for both in-house, online ordering, and third-party food ordering apps. Focusing on the customer experience is the number one way I’ve seen restaurants win in the past and how they’ll keep winning in the future.”

For more information on HungerRush’s survey findings on consumer third-party delivery app trends, click here.