Food Delivery Demand Spikes Amid Dine-In Restaurant Closings: Per FoodBoss

CHICAGO, March 26, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- FoodBoss, the largest online food ordering search engine in the U.S. that aggregates multiple food delivery services in one place, today released data demonstrating the impact the Coronavirus pandemic has had on the demand for food delivery.

The governors of Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and others, as well as numerous Mayors across the country, officially shut down dine-in options at restaurants and bars within their jurisdiction over the last few weeks. However, delivery and carry-out options are still permitted.

This comes weeks after many people already started practicing social distancing techniques, like staying indoors and avoiding crowds at restaurants. During this time, demand for food delivery has risen dramatically as one of the few options people can turn towards for a basic necessity.

FoodBoss found consumer demand for food delivery jumped 23.1% nationwide from February to March. On a city by city level, demand for food delivery increased:

• 19.6% in Chicago
• 12.7% in Philadelphia
• 9.0% in New York City
• 61.5% in Los Angeles
• 128.7% in Boston

As officials take more aggressive measures to fight the spread of COVID-19, it is likely more cities and states will follow suit and limit restaurants to delivery or carry out options only.

After an Initial Spike, Fees for Consumers Have Dropped
The increased demand initially caused a rise in food delivery fees. In early March, food delivery fees were 16.3% higher compared to early February. Since then, fees have returned to pre-quarantine levels and in some cases lowered as third-party food delivery companies and restaurants continue to work to provide an essential service in the face of the novel COVID-19 outbreak. An example is one food delivery service waiving delivery fees for consumers.

FoodBoss aims to help consumers. Users can compare food delivery prices and time estimates across multiple different food delivery services in one place. In cities where dine-in options have closed, there has been a rise in consumers searching based on estimated delivery times. In Chicago, the percent of users searching based on estimated delivery times jumped from 12.2% in February to 32.1% in March. Users are valuing faster delivery times more while in quarantine than previously before.

Ordering at off peak hours is the best way to get your food delivered faster. According to FoodBoss data, the least busy times to order food is 2pm on weekdays, before 12pm on Saturday, and before 11am on Sunday, though demand is fluid and could vary by day-to-day conditions in different cities.

Food delivery is in demand now more than ever before as a tactic to contain the spread of Coronavirus. As demand rises, expect consumer behaviors within the food delivery industry to evolve and adapt.

About FoodBoss
FoodBoss (foodboss.com) is a Chicago-based, venture capital funded online food ordering search engine. Their service allows consumers to search, compare, and select the best food delivery option from any restaurant available on their site. What makes FoodBoss unique is they enable users to see all restaurants that offer online ordering along with helping 3rd party delivery companies (Postmates, Caviar, UberEats, DoorDash, Delivery.com etc.) find hungry, eager consumers intent on ordering food. FoodBoss provides complete information to consumers by aggregating over 165,000 restaurants nationally, always finding the best deal on food delivery.

SOURCE FoodBoss