Food delivery is becoming an increasingly important segment of the foodservice industry. Despite the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the foodservice industry as a whole, the market size of food delivery increased in recent years. Online grocery shopping and co-op food deliveries are the two largest segments of food delivery in Japan. However, the restaurant food delivery segment has expanded considerably in recent years, presumably prompted by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic as demand soared in reaction to restrictions on mobility and safety concerns.
Specialized food delivery platforms, such as Demae-can and UberEats, are also present in the market and seek to provide consumers with fast, easy-to-understand and reliable services. To succeed, specialized food delivery platforms need to convince consumers, as well as restaurants, to make use of their services. The leading reasons that keep consumers in Japan from ordering food include the perceived high delivery costs and the fact that ordering food is more expensive than dining out.
Restaurant food delivery consumer behavior
Next to dining out and take-away, (some) restaurants also offer food delivery. Compared to the share of consumers who eat out or order take-away, the utilization rate of food delivery is relatively low. In Japan, younger age group cohorts constitute the main consumer base that use food delivery services, as utilization decreases with increasing age group. The most commonly ordered type of food is pizza. This is also reflected in the most commonly used food delivery service, which was Domino’s Pizza.Specialized food delivery platforms, such as Demae-can and UberEats, are also present in the market and seek to provide consumers with fast, easy-to-understand and reliable services. To succeed, specialized food delivery platforms need to convince consumers, as well as restaurants, to make use of their services. The leading reasons that keep consumers in Japan from ordering food include the perceived high delivery costs and the fact that ordering food is more expensive than dining out.
