Consumer food insights report highlights increasing use of food ordering apps

“Have you ever used a food ordering mobile application (such as UberEats, Grubhub, or a restaurant app) to order food for delivery or takeout?”, September 2024, Provided by: Purdue University
According to the September 2024 Consumer Food Insights Report (CFI), nearly two-thirds of consumers have used a food ordering app at least once for takeout, delivery, or both. More than half have used an app to order delivery. Of those who said they had ordered food using an app, almost half reported using the app for delivery or takeout at least once a week.
The research-based report, published by Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS), assesses food spending, consumer satisfaction and values, agricultural and food policy support, and the credibility of information sources. are. Purdue experts surveyed and evaluated 1,200 consumers across the United States.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the economy in many ways, especially in the service economy,” said Joseph Balagtas, lead author of the report, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, and director of CFDAS. Ta.
Earlier this year, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that spending on food ordering apps for delivery from full-service restaurants quadrupled by 2022 from pre-pandemic months. This trend led the CFDAS team to partner with Valerie Kilders, assistant professor of agribusiness. You’ll be responsible for marketing at Purdue, measuring and evaluating consumer app usage.
When ordering food online, 68% of consumers say they sometimes, often, or always use discounts and promo codes.
Food purchased away from home is usually more expensive than food prepared at home using pantry supplies. Understandably, many consumers seek cost savings when paying for the convenience of prepared meals, Balagtas said. This is especially true for consumers who spend the least on food. Half of them “often” or “always” used discounts and promo codes when ordering food online.
The report categorizes weekly food expenditures per person into three groups: frugal (less than $50 per week), moderate ($50 to $85 per week), and generous (more than $85 per week). There is. “Consumers who spend the most on food tend to ask for discounts less often,” Balagtas said.
CFI’s survey also asked consumers about additional fees associated with many food ordering apps. Many people think of fees as the cost of running a service, such as the fuel and time it costs for a delivery service, or the costs of managing and maintaining the app itself.
The survey also found that consumers say they tip between 10% and 19% on food delivery orders on average.
“Interestingly, 15% said they tip less than 10% of the total order amount, and 14% said they never tip for this service,” Balagtas said. “When we aggregate the responses by weekly food expenditure per person, there is little difference in the tipping rate.”
The Sustainable Food Purchase Index remained unchanged from the CFI survey’s last assessment in June 2024.
“Consumers continue to purchase foods that are safe and meet their tastes, budgets, and nutritional needs,” said Elijah Bryant, research analyst at CFDAS and co-author of the report. Few consumers currently purchase or plan to purchase food with environmental and social sustainability in mind.
“Consumers may value the environmental impact and social responsibility of food, but when it comes to purchasing factors, more immediate priorities such as food safety, taste, economics and nutrition weigh on them,” he said. It becomes the driving force for decision-making.”
Since its inception in January 2022, the CFI survey documents a gradual upward trend in per capita weekly food expenditure. As of January 2022, it was approximately $72. Last month, consumers reported average weekly total spending per person of $83, an increase of 15%.
“Consumers will have to adjust their budgets to accommodate higher food prices in order to purchase the same groceries,” Bryant said. “Wage growth will be a key determinant of changes in food purchasing behavior as food prices remain high even after inflation spikes in 2022.”
Based on USDA surveys to measure food insecurity, CFDAS researchers estimate the national food insecurity rate at 13%, unchanged from last month. Food insecurity rates are highest in households that spend less than $50 per person on food per week.
“We have previously seen a clear correlation between income and food security, with many households spending less on food because of income constraints. We now know that there is a high possibility that this is the case,” Bryant said. About 29% said they used free food resources, such as food banks, to supplement their diets. This shows the importance of these resources for people suffering from food insecurity due to declining food budgets, he said.
About 14% of people who are frugal on food adhere to a vegetarian or vegan diet, compared to only 6% of people who are moderate and discretionary on food. Frugal people also report growing their own food in a home or community garden at a higher rate (32%) than people who save food (24%) or are generous (21%).
“We don’t see many significant differences across spending groups in the frequency of the various eating behaviors we surveyed,” Bryant said. “However, it has been observed that people who are frugal with their food budgets choose generic foods over branded foods more often than those who are conservative and generous spenders.”
Just as the frugal group is more likely to be vegan and vegetarian, they are also more likely to choose plant protein over animal protein.
More information: Survey results: ag.purdue.edu/cfdas/data-resou … sumer-food-insights/
Provided by Purdue University
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