Here's Why Grocerants Need to Consider Delivery

We focus a lot on grocery delivery, but let's remember that its actually restaurant delivery that has been a mainstay for well over a half a century. 

To that end, delivery is now causing a physical space problem for many restaurants who have to make room to prepare and fulfill those orders. And in some cases even add special staff. 

USA Today reports that the growth in the restaurant industry is coming from those who are dining at home. Customers are increasingly ordering food through apps on their smartphones or by calling in. And that demand for deliveries, from sit-down restaurants as well as the more familiar pizza chains and Chinese take-out spots, is dramatically changing the restaurant industry. 

“Convenience is among the chief reasons why consumers visit restaurants and delivery brings a heightened level of it,” Warren Solochek, the NPD Group's SVP, said in a statement. “Restaurants need delivery in today’s environment in order to gain and maintain share. It has become a consumer expectation.”  

“When we signed up with Grubhub that changed everything for the business,’’ said Wesley Wobles, the creator of a Southern-French hybrid eatery, Pinky's Space, in New York. “Our first day online, our business tripled.’’ Delivery has grown to the point that it's as much as 75% of his business. 

Related:5 Grocerant Food Trends Revealed

And it's not just for dinner. Delivery of breakfast or morning snacks has increased 13% between 2012 and 2017, and lunch deliveries are up 3%, also according to NPD. A fact that grocerants should take note of—and if you are not yet delivering, you should be.