Delivery vs collection: Maximising your footfall during lockdown

New year, same challenges. If 2020 wasn’t hard enough, starting 2021 with another lockdown highlights the uphill battle ahead, particularly with an official end date for Lockdown 3.0 yet to be announced. As a result, delivery, on-site purchases to takeaway and click & collect remain the only revenue streams for operators for at least the foreseeable future.

Although the current restrictions considerably hamper many operators’ traditional channel mix, the ability to offer takeaway/delivery opens up new ways for operators to attract consumers. Using our latest insight from the Lumina Intelligence Eating & Drinking Out Panel from November and December 2020, we highlight some of the differences between those that collect their food from a venue and those that opt for delivery…

Lockdown to tiers has little impact on channel where food is ordered

Despite moving out of national lockdown in December, the tier restrictions meant little change in the proportion of out of home food & drink that was ordered for delivery or click & collect. Throughout November, delivery accounted for 26% of out of home food and drink purchases and click and collect 16%. For both, this remained stable in December 2020, giving a clear indication of what to expect when we move out of Lockdown 3.0, which is increasingly expected to be back into tiered restrictions.

When it comes to ordered and purchased on-site, its share of out of home food and drink purchases also remained stable at 56%, but there is one key difference. Throughout November, this would have been primarily grab and go, whereas in December, when the tier system returned, this will have incorporated food and drink that was purchased and consumed on-site within those regions in tiers one and two. This may simply indicate that consumers who were previously forced to take food away, chose to dine-in in December. Alternatively, it could indicate a shift in channel, with consumers shifting away from food and drink to go to more formal dine-in operators when given the opportunity.

Older consumers opt for more traditional ordering methods

Unsurprisingly, younger consumers are more likely to embrace technology when it comes to ordering out of home food and drink. Under-34s accounted for 55% of all delivery orders in November and December and 52% of all click and collect. In contrast, over 55’s accounted for just 9% of delivery orders and 11% click and collect.

Although younger consumers are more prevalent in the eating and drinking out market currently, it is important that operators do not lose focus on the additional revenue opportunities that other age groups offer. With the information above in mind, promotions relating to on-site purchasing would resonate more with older generations. As the vaccine rollout continues – and these age groups likely become more confident about leaving their homes, operators need to entice these consumers back to their venues. On the other hand, streamlining digital ordering solutions will be critical in retaining the younger, more tech reliant consumers.

London over-indexes on delivery

Overall, throughout November and December, London accounted for 19% of all out of home eating and drinking occasions, with the South East holding the second largest share (13%).

With operators such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats much more prominent in London, the region commands a much larger share (24%) of all out of home food and drink orders in the UK, compared to click and collect (20%) and ordered and purchased on-site (17%). Click & Collect over-indexes in the Midlands & Yorkshire.

This highlights that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Operators need to understand the behaviours of their local demographic and tailor their approach to suit. For most, there will be great value in offering multiple ordering methods but utilising each method appropriately to attract a specific consumer base.

We’ve recently made some exciting changes to our Eating & Drinking Out Panel that enable us to provide our clients with even more granular data. The panel is based on 78,000 surveys across the year, built up from a nationally representative weekly sample of 1,500 shoppers. Our comprehensive coverage includes over 900 operators from across all out of home channels – including restaurants, pubs and bars, cafes and coffee shops, fast food, bakery & sandwich, restaurants and retail channels. We cover dine-in as well as food & drinks consumed on the go, delivered, takeaway and click & collect. Find out more here – https://www.lumina-intelligence.com/product/eating-and-drinking-out-panel/