The market size of the global online food delivery sector was estimated at over one trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, of which 630 billion dollars were generated in the grocery delivery segment, and 390 billion dollars in the meal delivery segment. By 2029, the online food delivery market is forecast to generate revenues reaching 1.85 trillion U.S. dollars.

We asked Russian consumers about "Online food delivery bookings by brand" and found that "Delivery Club" takes the top spot, while "Ollis" is at the other end of the ranking.These results are based on a representative online survey conducted in 2022 among 883 consumers in Russia. Statista Consumer Insights offer you exclusive market research results from over 50 countries and territories worldwide.

In 2024, nearly three billion consumers globally used online food delivery services (grocery and meal delivery). Looking at the regional breakdown, Asia remains, by far, the biggest market for online food delivery, with approximately 1.84 billion users in 2024. Europe comes in second place, with around 355 million online food delivery users.

In 2024, the number of meal delivery users in Indonesia amounted to approximately 64 million. Meanwhile, the number of grocery delivery in Indonesia reached around 61 million in the same year.Find further statistics on other topics such as a comparison of the revenue in Brazil and a comparison of the number of users in Germany.The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

China's online food delivery business is booming. In 2024, the market size reached 1.6 trillion yuan. As of mid-2024, more than half of internet users in China had used online food delivery services. However, this expanding enterprise faces a number of challenges, including violations of labor rights and criticism regarding its environmental impact. Another industry in the gig economy The online food delivery industry has provided millions of jobs to delivery workers. The low skill requirement and relatively high income makes food delivery driving one of the most promising career options for China's migrant workers. However, the attraction of flexible work hours and income are not all that they seem. Most full-time food delivery workers work more than ten hours a day and the commission for each order has shrunk significantly. Furthermore, delivery workers are regularly under pressure, often dealing with overflow orders, impatient customers, and meeting strict delivery time requirements. Concerns over plastic waste Research draws a strong link between China's air pollution and food delivery consumption. As of 2020, more than 80 percent of the food delivery restaurants in China offered only plastic packaging. The overuse of plastic containers caused a considerable amount of plastic waste, contributing not only to landfill waste but also air pollution from the production of plastics.

With a market share of 67 percent, DoorDash dominated the online food delivery market in the United States as of March 2024. Meanwhile, Uber Eats held the second highest share with 23 percent.

China has the largest online food delivery market in the world. In 2024, around 592 million people in the country used online food delivery services, accounting for around 53.4 percent of the nation's internet user base. The boom of online food delivery in China Chinese people love to eat out. The majority of Chinese consumers spend a decent amount of money while eating in restaurants. However, food delivery is gaining popularity, especially for lunch. The convenience of apps like Meituan Delivery and Ele.me, online payment methods, as well as the fast pace of urban life, were the main reasons behind the trend. Major consumer trends A 2023 survey found that about 82 percent of respondents used food delivery services at least once a week. On average, app users spent between 25 and 100 yuan per order on online food delivery. Local cuisine, fast food, bubble tea, and other tea-based drinks were the most commonly ordered types of food for delivery.

In 2022, the leading frustration associated with online food delivery according to a survey of consumers around the world was long delivery time, as more than a third of respondents listed this as an issue. Incorrect orders followed as the second leading frustration, and delivery charges rounded out the top three.

The speed imperative

The food delivery industry is under constant pressure to meet high consumer expectations, with the greatest expectation being timely/quick delivery. For a quarter of online food delivery customers around the globe, the maximum wait time for said orders is 20 minutes, providing delivery services with a slim margin for error. Pushing the envelope to meet the needs of the consumer in this matter are startups such as Getir, Flink, and Gorillas. These companies are among the top players in the so-called 'quick commerce' market.

Quick commerce

Quick commerce companies offer a unique service, and help to bridge the gap between traditional e-commerce businesses and rising consumer expectations. Because of this, the q-commerce industry has enjoyed a growing popularity and demand since the pandemic began – so much so that market leader Getir acquired its competitor Gorillas in a deal worth 1.2 billion U.S. dollars at the end of 2022.

In a survey conducted in August 2022, some 38 percent of consumers from around the world expected their online food orders to be delivered within a time window of 21 to 30 minutes. However, the maximum wait time for a quarter of respondents was between 10 and 20 minutes, signaling to the importance of timely delivery.

In 2023, the Indian online food delivery market was worth 7.4 billion U.S. dollars. The delivery market was expected to grow and reach 24 billion U.S. dollars in 2026 .

Growth in the online food delivery sector post-COVID-19 Restricted mobility during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns led to the monumental growth in the online food delivery sector in the country. Restaurants and cafes, which did not offer delivery services earlier, had to provide or join food delivery services to stay afloat. However, to sustain this increased influx in revenue post lockdowns, delivery services came up with with customer retention strategies such as pay-later and subscription offers.

Demand for gig employees in online food delivery The rising demand for online food delivery services along with hikes in fuel prices and flat pay led to a shortage in personnel in the delivery sector. Furthermore, about 40 percent of the drivers in leading delivery services like Zomato and Swiggy would quit within a month of joining. Higher wages and transition to electric vehicles could pave the way for retaining gig employees.

During a March 2020 survey of consumers in the United States, 41.7 percent of respondents stated that if confined to their homes during the coronavirus, they were likely to purchase restaurant food delivery online. The food and hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic as bars and restaurants are forced to shutdown due to health and safety concerns. Many smaller establishments have pivoted to local food delivery services and there have been online initiatives to support local restaurants by buying vouchers or ordering food online.For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Grocery and meal delivery users were growing at a steady pace before 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge in food delivery through restaurant and delivery platforms. Even after restrictions were lifted, consumers embraced the convenience of having meals delivered with just a few clicks. As a result, the number of users grew from over 41 million in 2020 and is projected to reach 90.5 million by 2028.For further statistics, Statista Market Insights covers a broad range of additional markets.

The number of users in the online food delivery market in Singapore was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2028 by in total 0.6 million users (+15.5 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach 4.44 million users and therefore a new peak in 2028. Notably, the number of users of the online food delivery market was continuously increasing over the past years.Find other key market indicators concerning the revenue growth and revenue. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

The coronavirus pandemic brought major changes to dining behaviors among restaurant-goers in the United States. Restaurant closures and social distancing measures resulted in an increasing demand for online food delivery, both directly through a restaurant's website or using a third-party delivery service. In 2020, the online restaurant delivery sector's share of the restaurant market was predicted to be 13 percent, before the pandemic this figure was forecast at nine percent. The post-coronavirus market share was expected to rise as much as 21 percent in 2025.

The number of users is forecast to experience significant growth in all segments in 2028. This reflects the overall trend throughout the entire forecast period from 2018 to 2028. It is estimated that the indicator is continuously rising in all segments. In this regard, the Meal Delivery segment achieves the highest value of 14.3 million users in 2028. Find further statistics on other topics such as a comparison of the penetration rate in China and a comparison of the number of users in the Americas. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In 2024, online food delivery users in Europe were forecast to reach about 242 million for meal delivery and around 193 million for grocery delivery. Overall, both segments are expected to see their user base increase in the coming years, reaching an estimated 286 million meal delivery users and 253 million grocery delivery users.

Transatlantic competition Europe was the second largest region for online food delivery users in 2024, ranking after the populous continent of Asia. Notably, Europe’s share of global online food delivery users surpassed that of North America, another key market for food delivery companies. Many of them are headquartered in Europe, competing head-to-head with U.S.-based companies. In fact, the leading online food delivery company worldwide is U.S.-based Uber Eats, followed closely in second place by Berlin-based Delivery Hero.

Delivery Hero: a global titan from Berlin

With annual revenues reaching nearly ten billion euros in 2023, Delivery Hero extended its consumer reach far and wide beyond its home base. Its extensive brand portfolio includes PedidosYa, foodpanda, talabat, Yemeksepeti, and Glov, among others. In 2023, the two most lucrative regions for the company were Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a stunning testament to the global reach the Berlin-based company has achieved in recent years.

The penetration rate is forecast to experience significant growth in all segments in 2028. The trend observed from 2021 to 2028 remains consistent throughout the entire forecast period. There is a continuous increase in the indicator across all segments. Notably, the Restaurant Delivery segment achieves the highest value of 46.12 percent at 2028. Find further statistics on other topics such as a comparison of the revenue in the United Kingdom and a comparison of the number of users in the United Kingdom. The Statista Market Insights cover a broad range of additional markets.

In 2020, the market size of the online food delivery industry in Vietnam amounted to around 587 million U.S. dollars, indicating an increase from the previous year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This industry was forecast to continue to grow in the following years, reaching the forecast market size of 2.7 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

In 2024, China was forecast to be the biggest market for online food delivery worldwide, generating around 450 billion U.S. dollars in revenue. The United States ranked second, with the online food delivery revenue reaching approximately 353 billion U.S. dollars that year. Food delivery market in the U.S. The online food delivery landscape in the U.S. is mainly divided into two segments: meal delivery and grocery delivery. In 2024, the grocery segment was estimated at approximately 257 billion U.S. dollars, while meal delivery revenues were estimated at 96 billion dollars. Such a lucrative online food delivery market entails high consumer expectations: nearly 60 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed in 2022 said they expected their online food orders to arrive in 30 minutes or less. DoorDash: homegrown champion San Francisco-based DoorDash was the leading food delivery operator in the United States as of January 2024, controlling two-thirds of the online food delivery market in the country. In 2023, DoorDash revenues reached approximately 8.6 billion U.S. dollars. More information on DoorDash can be found here.

In 2024, there were approximately 25 million people in the United Kingdom using grocery delivery services, and an estimated 44 million people using meal delivery services. The number of users of the online food delivery market in the UK is forecast to increase across both the grocery and meal delivery segments in the coming years. By 2029, over 70 million consumers in the United Kingdom will be using online food delivery services.