Justin Rosenberg, CEO and founder of honeygrow, speaks with eMarketer vice president of business development Marissa Coslov about flipping its dining-in model to 100% mobile app orders with the help of third-party delivery providers.

Food delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and SkipTheDishes—a Winnipeg-based homegrown competitor to the US-based services—had already established a foothold before the pandemic. The greater need for delivery last year elevated their influence in food service, even though the fees they charge have raised concerns in the restaurant industry and for regulators.

Retailers that don’t have a delivery infrastructure can still offer delivery powered by a third party that sits on an owned and operated website or app. For example, a Kroger Boost subscription offers free delivery though the retailer’s site, but delivery is powered by Instacart. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Free Trials.

App usage is strong, but advertisers need to rethink their strategies, thanks to ad tracking and measurement changes.

Remote workers overindexed on both using food delivery apps and ordering groceries online. Food delivery apps aren't counting on restaurant delivery alone to drive revenues. Apps in Canada have already started including convenience store items as part of “corner store ecommerce.”

In the US, three apps accounted for 86% of online engagement with alcohol delivery between March and May 2021, according to ShareThis.

More recently, delivery apps like Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats have also emerged. Not only do these platforms offer grocery delivery from local stores, but they also create partnerships with retail chains that want to expand into digital but don’t have a delivery infrastructure.

Apple’s record App Store payouts reveal thriving app economy: Developers earned an unprecedented $60 billion in 2021, even as regulators targeted unfair app commission structure.

The food and beverage category has gained share over the past two years—and given the inroads that grocery stores, mass merchants, Amazon, and delivery apps have made in aiding online sales of these items, the category is poised to continue to grow its share. Over One-Third of Apparel and Accessories Sales Are Online.

The company attributed its strong performance of supermarket operations to increased consumer demand, product assortment changes, and its alliance with grocery delivery app Cornershop. During H1 2021, Cencosud also launched its new supermarket format, Spid35, in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru.

By encouraging people to order through dedicated apps instead of third-party delivery services, restaurants can avoid paying extra fees and commission, which enables them to offer extra benefits to customers. Subscription-based loyalty: Subscriptions are another tactic that restaurants can layer onto existing loyalty programs to capture additional revenues from consumers.

Delivery Services Are Starting to Morph into Retail Super Apps. In the US, delivery apps have expanded beyond grocery and restaurants by partnering with retailers and investing in their own inventory. For example, Instacart has partnerships to deliver products from the likes of Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, and Staples.

AirAsia, one of the world’s largest budget airlines, is on a mission to build a regional super app. While it follows in the footsteps of titans like WeChat in China and Gojek in Southeast Asia, if AirAsia succeeds, it will blaze a path for travel and other industries not endemic to the mobile space.

Sales Via Retailer Site: Sales of grocery products ordered digitally via a retailer's own site/app, including both delivery and click and collect. This excludes restaurant sales.

US digital sales of food and beverages from restaurants soared 123.8% last year, per eMarketer estimates. This massive increase was the result of more consumers using delivery services like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub amid lockdowns and restaurant closures.