A research paper released today has cast fresh light on the role of on demand food delivery platforms in Australia, finding that they bring in $2.6B in trade to the domestic restaurant industry, of which 70% is additional revenue.

Compiled by Australian economic advisory and research firm AlphaBeta (part of Accenture), the report features research from more than 17 million restaurant and delivery transactions including data points from consumer transaction spend, business intelligence and a survey of consumers in Sydney and Melbourne.

Some key points from the report, which relied on insights from 2019, are below. The full findings can be found here. 

  • App delivery accounts for 5.6% – or $2.6B – of restaurant trade (excluding fees)
  • 70% of the delivery app spend – or $1.8b – is money that wouldn’t have otherwise been spent in restaurants.
  • App delivery has increased the total number of restaurant orders by 80 million. 
  • 75% of people said that delivery apps made them more aware of independent restaurants. 
  • Restaurant customers who also use ‘delivery apps’ don’t reduce their direct spending on restaurants – the average delivery app user spends 41% more directly in restaurants than other customers.
  • 75% of people who discover a restaurant through a ‘Delivery app’, and like the food, are likely to visit the restaurant in the future.
  • 26% of people say they visit restaurants more since they started using delivery apps. 

Read the Alphabeta “Growing the Pie” report here