Consumers placing food delivery orders say ‘hold the fee’

A new survey indicates that consumers appreciate online food delivery, but are less keen on the fees that go with it.

According to a survey of over 1,100 U.S. consumers from online deal platform CouponFollow, 30% of respondents reported getting takeout food delivered more than once a week, while one in three respondents reported getting groceries delivered at least once a week. Almost six in 10 (58%) respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic has increased their frequency of food delivery orders.

Respondents reported using 2.4 food delivery apps on average. However, for many respondents, app loyalty is dependent on fees not increasing. While DoorDash was the most popular food delivery app, used by 45% of respondents, 55% of those users would switch to a different app if fees increased. Grubhub (31% usage/59% would switch), Uber Eats (26% usage/52% would switch), and Postmates (10% usage/51% would switch) showed similar fee sensitivity.

The survey also demonstrated much lower levels of loyalty to grocery delivery apps, but similar or higher levels of fee sensitivity among users. This includes statistics for Walmart (19% usage/61% would switch due to higher fees), Amazon Fresh (19%/49%), Instacart (18%/54%), and Target Delivery (8%/53%).

When asked what steps they plan to take in 2022 to reduce food delivery spending, respondents said:

• None (36%).
• Reduce order frequency (28%).
• Reduce food delivery app usage (25%).
• Stop ordering for food delivery (22%).
• Delete apps with high fees (20%).
• Switch to apps with lower fees (19%).
• Stop using food delivery apps (18%).

In addition, respondents were asked to identify the most annoying types of food delivery fees:

• Variable fees (preset feeds that change based on demand – 31%).
• Percentage fees (percentage added to cost based on order price – 27%).
• Minimum order amount (24%).
• Fate rate fees (preset fees added to order cost – 18%).

Acosta - COVID-19 drives online grocery shopping
“The Lingering Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Shoppers,” a recent consumer survey from integrated sales and marketing services provider Acosta, reinforces CouponFollow’s findings of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting online food delivery habits. Close to seven in 10 (68%) respondents are currently shopping online for groceries, at least occasionally, as both the pandemic and economic outlook continue to evolve.

At least in some areas, Acosta data shows grocery shoppers are actually more concerned about the virus in early 2022 than they were at the end of 2021. For example, only 40% of consumers surveyed by Acosta between December 30, 2020, and January 4, 2021, said they were currently shopping online for groceries.

And the average concern level of consumers surveyed by Acosta in January 2022 was 6.6 on a scale of 1-10 (1 being not at all concerned and 10 being extremely concerned), up 0.7 points from a survey taken in December 2021. Nearly 33% of surveyed households are in a worse place financially in 2022 than they were before the pandemic.