New data from purchase intelligence platform Cardlytics reveals delivery services like takeaways, meal kits and grocery boxes have seen a huge growth in sales as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The data is based on the purchasing habits of 22 million UK bank accounts, 11 million of which use delivery services.
The introduction of lockdown opened the door for online retail and delivery services to flourish. Spend on do-it-yourself meal kits and grocery boxes like Hello Fresh, Gousto and Mindful Chef more than doubled, growing by 114% in April compared with last year, as people sought to recreate restaurant recipes at home.
Takeaways also experienced a spike in demand in April. Overall spend on the likes of Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo increased 39% as consumers swapped their meals out for TV dinners.
Beyond lockdown, the popularity of delivery services has been on an upward trajectory and showing no sign of slowing. Consumer spend on delivery services rose 15% in the last year (April 2019 – April 2020) compared with the same period a year prior, driven by a higher number of transactions per customer.
Shoppers continue to be attracted by the convenience of paying for their meal kits or takeaways at the click of a button. In the last year consumers spent 36% more on meal kits from the likes of Able & Cole and Graze than they did the year before, whilst takeaway services such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats enjoyed a 21% rise in spending across the year to April 2020.
Duncan Smith, Commercial Director at Cardlytics UK, said: “The gradual rise of the UK’s door-to-door economy has become a relentless surge. Just as working from home has dramatically impacted the importance of workplace technology, so too has lockdown transformed the role of delivery services. More and more brands are embracing this approach as this economy becomes the new normal for us all.
“More of us than ever before are choosing to dine in, try at home, or do-it-ourselves, and with brands offering more choice and more delivery options, it’s unlikely the number of us ordering to the comfort of our sofas will go anywhere but up, even after lockdown lifts.”
NAM Implications:
- Anyone not already focused on optimising door-to-door opportunities in their categories…
- …is reading the wrong trade news.
- A no-brainer that should not need pointing out…
