Delivery and takeaway sales double pre-Covid levels

Managed restaurant groups’ delivery and takeaway sales ended 2022 at twice their pre-Covid level, according to CGA by NielsenIQ’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker.

Combined sales in December 2022 were 104% higher than in December 2019, with deliveries up 238% and takeaway and click-and-collect orders 53% ahead.

The figures confirm how lockdowns and the convenience of delivery platforms have transformed the restaurant market, long after the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions in Britain. Managed groups received just over 24% of their total sales from deliveries and takeaways in December, the Hospitality at Home Tracker shows. It also highlights the increasing importance of drinks, which now account for 10% of all at-home orders.

However, trading has plateaued since late 2021. The tracker shows total delivery and takeaway sales in 2022 were 2% behind December 2021— the 14th consecutive month of year-on-year decline in a row.

Karl Chessell, director of hospitality operators and food at CGA, comments: "After booming in 2020 and 2021, it was a year of consolidation for the delivery and takeaway sector. A return to eating out and a squeeze on consumer spending both contributed to the plateauing of sales throughout 2022. Nevertheless, with nearly a quarter of all sales now coming from at-home orders, Covid has cemented food and drink deliveries in people’s habits. The big challenge for all restaurant groups in 2023 is to protect sales and margins on third-party delivery platforms without compromising eat-in trade."

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