Survey reveals online restaurant and alcohol ordering trends

New data from DoorDash sheds light on how and why consumers are purchasing to go orders of food and alcohol.

There was 100% year-over-year growth in orders for alcohol pickup and delivery on the DoorDash platform between 2021 and 2022, according to the company's inaugural “Alcohol Online Ordering Trends Report” and third annual “Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report."  Comfort, convenience, and time-savings are the top reasons for respondents using alcohol and delivery services (42%).

Consumer online food and drink ordering habits

The surveys revealed the following trends in online restaurant and alcohol orders:

• In 2023, low fees rose to the top as the most important feature when choosing a restaurant delivery method, compared to a good ordering experience in 2022.
• Menu selection (55%) and menu pricing (51%) are the top two things respondents look for when trying out a new restaurant for delivery, takeout, or pickup. 
• Almost one in five (18%) respondents are ordering on-demand alcohol delivery to save money. Among respondents who order alcohol delivery, nearly seven in 10 order alcohol online at least monthly. 
• Going to a third-party app or website takes the top spot (34%) when it comes to the process of selecting somewhere to order food for delivery or takeout, beating out online search (16%) or going directly to a restaurant’s app/website (22%). 
• The most popular time to order alcohol online for delivery or pickup is 6 p.m. local time. Fridays and Saturdays are the most popular days to order alcohol for pickup and delivery. 
• Most orders for restaurant delivery are during lunch (11 a.m. – noon) and dinner (5 – 7 p.m). However, the biggest growth in orders within all timeframes year-over-year is late night/early morning (midnight to 5 a.m.).

The Alcohol Online Ordering Trends Report was conducted by Material on behalf of DoorDash, surveying 500 U.S.-based consumers who had used on-demand delivery in the past six months. The alcohol survey ran from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, 2022.

The Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report survey was conducted by Dynata on behalf of DoorDash between April 19 to 28, 2023, surveying 1,525 U.S.-based consumers from a variety of ages, careers, and income levels.

Online liquor delivery becomes big business

Retailers including Target and Macy’s have launched or relaunched alcohol delivery programs in the couple of years; while platforms including Uber and Gopuff have initiated acquisitions or partnerships in the space, such as a recent collaboration between Gopuff and Uber-owned alcohol delivery platform Drizly. And convenience giant 7-Eleven teams up with on-demand alcohol delivery service Minibar Delivery to make liquor delivery available from select stores.