Eating out behavior in the U.S. - statistics & facts

The rise of takeout and delivery in the U.S.

One key factor that contributed to the rise of eating out in the U.S. in recent years was the introduction of online food delivery services, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. Furthermore, many restaurants began to offer the option to place orders online, either through a restaurant’s website directly or with smartphone apps. The number of smartphone food delivery app users in the U.S. reached over 36 million in 2019, a figure that was forecast to grow. While some food service providers such as pizza restaurants have been offering delivery services for years, the introduction of food delivery service apps has allowed more restaurants to begin offering delivery as well. Among digital restaurant food orders in the U.S. in 2020, a majority were carry-out orders, while the remaining 38 percent were delivery orders. While the share of U.S. food service transactions initiated via an ordering app was six percent in 2019, this more than doubled in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to 15 percent.

Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on U.S. eating out behavior

During the pandemic, U.S. restaurants were unable to offer indoor dining for long periods of time and had to rely on takeout or delivery orders. The U.S. areas that accounted for most of the local restaurant orders placed online or via an app during the pandemic were suburban and urban areas. Meanwhile, rural areas accounted for the least online orders during the pandemic. Food service consumer spending in the U.S. fell dramatically in the first few weeks of the pandemic, dropping from a pre-pandemic spend of nearly 55 thousand U.S. dollars to around 33 thousand dollars in the first week of April in 2020. Despite this initial decrease in consumer spending on food services, U.S. customers were itching to return to eating out at restaurants. In a survey looking at the level of U.S. public excitement to eat out after COVID-19, the majority of respondents indicated that they were either very excited to eat out at a restaurant again or had already done so.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.