Love ordering in? Food delivery apps are rising in popularity
The popularity of delivery services have skyrocketed of late, especially in New South Wales and Victoria. New Research by Roy Morgan shows that over 7 million Australians aged over 14 (33.4%) now use a meal delivery service in an average three months. This number is up from 3.6 million in early 2020.
Uber Eats is the clear market leader followed by Menulog, Deliveroo and MACROS.
Roy Morgan’s findings show that it is Millenials and Gen Zs who are the most frequent users of meal delivery services. These two generations account for just under 70% of the current market.
Interestingly, data also shows that women are more likely to use meal delivery services in all age groups.
According to Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine, the market research firm has been closely monitoring the usage of apps over the last decade, as smartphones became almost ubiquitous across Australia.
“Over the last two years some of the biggest growth has been for meal delivery service apps as lockdowns enforced to prevent the spread of COVID-19 forced millions of Australians to spend extended periods of time at home,” she said.
Not sure which meal delivery service to use?
Some people are very loyal to one food delivery service. However, if you are tossing up between which one to pick, here are some tips to help.
Uber Eats is a clear favourite among Australians but it is not the only option when it comes to these services. Other options include Doordash, Menulog and Deliveroo.
When choosing which to use, it depends on which offers the best variety of food and which has the cheapest delivery fees.
Range of food options
UberEats tends to have the largest range of food options, however this does depend on your order and location.
Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Menulog and Doordash also all offer alcohol delivery services, if you live close to a partnering alcohol retailer.
Subscriptions and memberships
If you’re a frequent food delivery customer it may be worth looking into getting a subscription, which comes with a variety of perks - and can save you money!
For example, Uber’s membership program is called Uber One and signing up means you can get savings on both Uber and Uber Eats. For $9.99 per month, you can get multiple perks including unlimited free delivery on eligible purchases as well at least 10% off the price of Uber rides.
Door Dash’s membership program is called DashPass. You can get a free 30 day free trial and after that, it costs $9.99 per month or $96 per year. The perks of this membership include $0 delivery fee on orders, 5% DoorDash credit back on pick up orders and savings on grocery delivery.
Deliveroo has Deliveroo Plus which costs $5.99 per month for the silver plan or $12.99 per month for gold. With silver, you get free delivery on orders over $40 and with gold you get free delivery on all orders. You also get access to special restaurant offers.
(Menulog does not currently offer a subscription).
The cost of delivery
If you’re not interested in signing up for a subscription to a delivery service, it’s hard to know where to save money. There’s no general rule on delivery costs, as fees can depend on a variety of factors, including the time of day, distance from the restaurant to home and whether there are any current promotions being offered for that restaurant.
Of course, one basic way to save on delivery fees is to just compare prices between services each time dinner arrives.
Keen to learn more online shopping tips? Check out our online shopping hub.
Want to try a different type of food delivery? Check out our comparison of meal kit providers.