Food delivery, common in urban areas where population is dense and car ownership is low, is expanding to the suburbs and beyond thanks to the rise of digital services connecting users to restaurants.
Diners used to have just pizza and Chinese to choose from, but now their options include fast food, higher-end fare, food carts and even virtual restaurants that serve as commissaries to fuel delivery orders rather than sit-down customers.
Popular restaurants for delivery are even starting to reallocate space to accommodate staging areas and to make up for fewer in-store diners. This follows a similar square footage repurposing trend that is happening in the grocery industry.
A year and a half ago, a majority of US internet users (52%) looked to a restaurant's own app or website to order food delivery. Grubhub was favored by around one-third, according to Cowen and Company.