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DIC. GEN. 2017
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Food delivery: more
than ever
There are more and more companies
that give traditional restaurants
online visibility and also arrange home
deliveries. This is a way to increase
the number of meals avoiding service
costs. But the challenge is in the
timings and in organizing the kitchen
By Anna Muzio
The restaurant that grows the most?
It’s at home. Eating at home, relaxed
and without touching a single pan,
forgetting about the shopping list.
This has become a frequent habit
and not just the emergency solution
to a rainy day. An increase in offer
has caused an increase in demand
and viceversa. Many start-up
companies have opened in the span
of a few years. They cater for the
growing desire of receiving takeaway
meals at home (breakfast, lunch
and dinner alike) with fast delivery
times: Just Eat, Foodora, Deliveroo
and Foodinho. Evocative names for
different business models.
Then the big names have decided to
enter the world of food, like Amazon’s
food delivery and Uber, whose Uber
Eats spin-off has just arrived in Milan.
Not to mention the ready-made meals
available in supermarkets.
There seems to be a race to keep
customers away from restaurants.
According to the Osservatorio
eCommerce B2c of Politecnico Milano,
food delivery in Italy has grown of
29% in 2016 reaching 90 million
euros. A small amount compared to
the 76 billion euros of out-of-home
consumption, of course, but it is
bound to quickly grow, considering
the many new entries on the market.
Only a year ago, the German Foodora
and the British Deliveroo made their
debut in Milan. Today, they are two
very well-known companies in our big
cities. The start-ups have gained their
market share thanks to the immediate
gratification they give, fast service,
an easy-to-use interface, elegant and
practical packaging.
ONLINE CUSTOMERS RICHER
AND MORE FREQUENT.
Last
year, the first national study on
takeaways commissioned by Just
Eat to Gfk Eurisko found out that
in the previous 6 months 51% of
Italians had ordered takeaway food
going to the restaurant in person and
38% had ordered it on the phone.
Only 2% had ordered using a Pc or
smartphone, but this percentage
is bound to grow considering that
at least 7 million Italians (19% of
those surveyed) had the “intention
to buy”, i.e. the desire to try and
use the service. Besides, those who
order online tend to do so 4-5 times
a month, against the 1-2 times of
people who use “analog” methods.
And they spend more money: 97
euros a month against the 32-37
spent by people who walk to the
restaurant or order by phone. All
this doesn’t take into consideration
deliveries to offices, more and more
frequent (an opportunity to explore,
especially if you are in an area with
many offices around).
BEING THERE OR NOT BEING
THERE.
Is this a problem or
an opportunity for traditional
restaurants? Probably both. On
one side, there’s a risk of losing
customers, on the other side there’s
a chance to gain new customers. It
is a way of being there and being
exposed, but it changes the way one
works. It needs people to change
their frame of mind, but on the other
hand it can increase the number of
virtual meals and restaurants can
avoid the cost of service.