Canadians chose delivery in record numbers over the past two years, but will that trend continue? According to Restaurants Canada’s survey of Canadians, there will be some pullback in delivery as restaurants reopen for on-premise dining. Overall, 17% of Canadians said they would order food delivery from a restaurant “a lot less often” as the pandemic subsides while another 30% said they will order delivery “a little less often”. It’s important to note that nearly half (45%) of Canadians say they will continue to order delivery “about the same” as during the pandemic and 8% said they will order delivery “more often”.
Delivery will largely be driven by young Canadians. As the pandemic subsides, 28% of 18 to 34 year olds said delivery will be their top choice when ordering takeout from a quick-service restaurant.
This was followed closely by 27% that said their top choice is to go inside and pickup and 24% that said they will use drive through.
In addition, 18 to 34 year olds are significantly more likely than other age groups to order delivery through a third-party aggregator.
When it comes to table-service restaurants, 39% of 18 to 34 year olds said their top choice for off-premise dining is to go inside and pick up, while 37% said their top choice is delivery. In contrast, 40% of those 55 and older prefer going inside and picking up their food while just 22% said their top choice is delivery. Once again, third-party aggregators are more popular with younger Canadians when it comes to delivery than older Canadians.
There is no question that delivery is here to stay. While there will be some dip in delivery as on-premise dining reopens, it will not be going back to pre-pandemic levels. Surveys of Canadians indicate that they enjoy the convenience of delivery and it’s a great way to order food when they don’t feel like going out.
For more information, or to read the full 2021 Discerning Diner Report, visit https://info.restaurantscanada.org/discerning-diner-2021.
Restaurants Canada Digital
Nam dapibus nisl vitae elit fringilla rutrum. Aenean sollicitudin, erat a elementum rutrum, neque sem pretium metus, quis mollis nisl nunc et massa. Vestibulum sed metus in lorem tristique ullamcorper id vitae erat.
