Britain’s £15 BILLION takeaway binge: Deliveroo orders DOUBLE while JustEat sees 75% rise despite lockdown measures ending – as 38% of homes now get fast food delivered at least once a week
- New figures show takeaway giant Deliveroo took a total of 148.8 million orders in the first six months of 2021
- This was double the 74.5 million recorded last year, while gross transaction value also rose to nearly £3.4bn
- Rivals Just Eat also experienced a sales hike, having received 135 million orders in the first half of this year
- Customers being unable to visit restaurants in lockdown saw a boom in number of food orders made online
- But today’s figures show the trend has continued into this summer, even when many restrictions were lifted
Takeaway giants Deliveroo and Just Eat have seen a huge rise in sales despite the end of lockdown, new figures show.
The Covid pandemic resulted in a fast food spending boom with some £15 billion in sales registered last year compared to 2019.
The spend is largely down to the regularity of orders, with 38% of homes tucking into a takeaway at least once a week, according to the British Takeaway Campaign.
In new figures released today, Deliveroo said it took 148.8 million orders in the first six months of 2021, double the figure of 74.5 million recorded in the same period last year. It also reported a doubling of gross transaction value, to nearly £3.4 billion.
Rivals Just Eat, meanwhile, have also experienced a substantial sales hike, having received 135 million orders in the first half of this year, up from 76.8 million in 2020 – a rise of 76%.
The firms have been boosted by more than a year of on-and-off lockdowns in the UK, with customers unable to visit restaurants, and so ordering their food online instead.
At the start of lockdown, takeaway companies were hailed for their importance by ministers, with the Government reportedly asking pizza giant Domino’s to keep stores open ‘and provide local communities freshly made pizza to help boost morale and keep people safe at home’.
Despite restrictions easing, Deliveroo said today that so far it has proven fairly immune to the end of lockdown, with ‘no material impact’ from the UK reopening during the second quarter of the year.
In accounting, anything with a less than 1% effect on turnover can be considered as having no material impact.
In new figures released today, Deliveroo said it took 148.8 million orders in the first six months of 2021, double the figure of 74.5 million recorded in the same period last year
Chief executive Will Shu said: ‘We are seeing strong growth and engagement across our marketplace as lockdowns continue to ease.
‘Demand has been high amongst consumers. We have widened our consumer base, seen people continuing to order frequently, and we now work with more food merchants than any other platform in the UK.’
But Deliveroo said it will not last forever and the lockdown bounce is likely to ease off in the second half of the year.
The company said it expects gross transaction value to grow between 50% and 60% this year, sticking to guidance it provided in July.
‘As reflected in our guidance, whilst we expect that consumer behaviour may moderate later in the year, we remain excited about the opportunity ahead and our ability to capitalise on it,’ Mr Shu said.
The business is still loss-making but cut pre-tax loss from £128.4 million to £104.8 million over the period, on revenue of £922.5 million – up 82%.
A report by the British Takeaway Campaign included research on families’ habits when placing orders, which included evidence that consumers are now relying on apps and websites more than the phone.
Some 39% say that mobile apps are their preferred method of ordering takeaways, while 24% place orders through a website.
Furthermore, those who order via apps or websites also spend more per order than those who order in person or over the phone, according to the campaign, with half of 2020’s total spend on takeaways made via apps.
The report adds: ‘App users are also almost twice as likely to have ordered from new restaurants since the outbreak of the pandemic. These findings illustrate how vital technology is, allowing business owners to find new customers and in some cases increase revenue compared to prepandemic.’
It comes as takeaway delivery app, Foodhub has revealed that Birmingham ordered more lockdown takeaways than anywhere else in the UK – taking the title of the UK’s takeaway capital
Earlier this year, fellow takeaway Just Eat revealed which was the most popular takeaway meal in each region
Ibrahim Dogus, the campaign’s chair, said: ‘For a long time, takeaway was seen as the ugly duckling of the hospitality industry, easily dismissed as not having the polish or skill of restaurant food.
‘The innovation and ability to adapt that we have seen during the pandemic has shown how far from the truth that perception was. Michelin-starred restaurants now provide meal kits to eat at home – this is simply takeaway by another name.
‘If there is one thing silver lining I can take from this pandemic, it is that it has shown that to draw a dividing line between takeaways and restaurants no longer makes business sense.
‘The strongest, most resilient hospitality businesses are those which have adapted and built their takeaway capability as part of their wider offering to customers.’
It is less than five months since Deliveroo came to market with a problematic float which saw its share price collapse.
The London-based firm had hoped to sell shares for 390p each when it listed, but the market had other ideas.
Within just a couple of weeks the share price hit a low of 225p. Since then it has recovered much of that ground, but still lags behind the initial optimism.
Uber Eats has been contacted for comment and new figures.
The top 10 cities in the UK that ordered takeaway during lockdown
Top 10 UK cities who ordered the most takeaways during lockdown according to FoodHub
1. Birmingham
2. Aberystwyth
3. Belfast
4. Manchester
5. Cardiff
6. Gloucester
7. London
8. Bristol
9. Liverpool
10. Glasgow
Britain’s top 5 takeaway meals during lockdown
1. Chinese – 16%
2. Pizza – 15%
3. Fish & Chips – 13%
4. Curry – 9%
5. Burgers – 5%
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