NEWTON, Mass. — A new report from Paytronix Systems reveals that 58% of U.S. consumers skip aggregators when ordering from their favorite eateries.
Conversely, 17% who regularly buy food from restaurants used an aggregator to order from their favorite table-service restaurant or quick-service restaurant (QSR) at least once in the last three months. The fact that 58% don’t use aggregators implies 42% do; however, not all those consumers are regular users.
“The Digital Divide, Aggregators: The Cost of Convenience,” a collaboration between online news source PYMNTS, Boston, and digital customer experience platform Paytronix, Newton, Mass., focuses on food delivery aggregators, services offering food from more than one restaurant, an ordering method the report said some find convenient but others avoid due to perceived high costs.
“Brands today must own their digital ordering channel from start to finish,” said Andrew Robbins, CEO of Paytronix. “Guests clearly want to work directly with the brands they love, and the more control brands have over the full ordering process, the better and more personalized they can make it. Aggregators play a key role in this ecosystem, but brands need the tools and technologies in place to keep their guests happy and coming back.”
The report’s findings include:
- Aggregators remain a less popular option: Fewer than one-fifth of restaurant customers used an aggregator to order from their favorite eateries in the last three months. Ordering directly from the restaurant by phone or online remain much more popular options.
- DoorDash and Uber Eats are the most popular aggregators: DoorDash is tops, with 58.2% of aggregator users ordering through this platform at least once in the past 15 months. Rounding out the top four are Uber Eats at 46%, Grubhub at 37% and Postmates at 20%, with less than 10% for other players.
- Aggregators trail far behind more traditional ordering methods: 44% of respondents had ordered delivery or pickup from their favorite restaurant directly through its website or app, while 42% ordered by phone in the last three months. Seventy percent dined at their favorite restaurant in the last three months.
- Respondents spend more per purchase, on average, when ordering from their favorite restaurants through aggregators than directly from eateries. The gap is especially large for QSRs, with aggregator purchases averaging between 10% and 12% more than those made when eating at the restaurant, ordering directly from the restaurant website or mobile app or ordering by phone
- Convenience is key: About two-thirds of aggregator users select aggregators for convenience. More than one-third believe it is the only way to order delivery from their desired restaurant. Most of the other top reasons also center around convenience; 34% of aggregator users say these platforms are the only way to get delivery from the restaurants of their choice, and 32% say ordering this way is faster.
- Cost is a factor: More than half of restaurant customers who do not use aggregators point to the fees and menu markups added by aggregators as a reason they go directly to restaurants. Those who use aggregators are less concerned about the cost factor.
PYMNTS surveyed 2,213 adults who buy food from restaurants at least once a month, including dine-in, delivery and pickup, between Sept. 2 and 9, about how they place orders, how much they spend and the impact of the pandemic on their purchases.
Paytronix is a provider of software-as-a-service customer experience management products for restaurants and c-stores. It works with more than 500 brands across 30,000 locations.
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