Expected increase in delivery is coming to pass

Canadian consumers have become increasingly interested on food and grocery delivery services, as well as online shopping, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new report by consumer research firm Vividata shows that from December to March, both restaurant delivery app UberEats and grocery delivery service Instacart experienced triple digit growth in visitations among panelists of Metrica, Vividata’s passive digital measurement panel. In that timeframe, UberEats visits went up by 300%, with Instacart experiencing a 320% increase.

The report echoed predictions about delivery services seeing increases in business to help Canadians continue to abide by physical distancing and stay-at-home guidelines. Though Vividata doesn’t provide numbers about how spending may have changed, it does show that consumers are, at the very least, showing greater consideration for the services.

For Amazon, visits and spending on the online marketplace were nearly as high as in December, typically the site’s most active month due to holiday shopping.

The average number of visits to Amazon per Metrica panelist was 44.9 in, compared to 46.2 in December. There was only a $2.78 difference in average spend per panelist – $30.93 in December and $28.15 in March.

Given Canadian consumers’ apprehension about going out to order and purchase food, some other companies have even pivoted to both meet demand and help compensate for their own areas of lost business. Coffee and snack delivery startup GoJava expanded its services to launch a sister site for groceries, while restaurant chain Earls is offering grocery delivery, household goods and meal kits. In the U.S., sandwich chains Panera and Subway have both launched grocery delivery services of their own.

The results from Vividata seem to be consistent with results from a Bond Brand Loyalty survey, which showed anticipated increasing in the amount they spent on delivery from restaurants, grocery stores and other online retailers.