Dine In and Dash! – Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS) – Purdue College of Agriculture News & Stories
Food delivery sales, specifically total sales of the top 15 food delivery merchants across the U.S., fluctuated during the COVID-19 pandemic. With restrictions and safety precautions throughout the pandemic, it’s no surprise that sit-down restaurants experienced dips in sales and food delivery companies experienced unprecedented spikes in sales. What does this mean for the future of sit-down restaurants and food delivery?
Jayson Lusk, distinguished professor of agricultural economics and director of the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS), predicts that restaurants may continue to transform to better fit the evolving needs of consumers, creating infrastructures that support sit-down consumption, takeout AND food delivery.
See the fluctuation in spending on food delivery services in the image to the right. We plot the percent change in per-capita spending over time relative to the beginning of December 2019. This features data from December 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022. We paired the data with key moments during the pandemic as noted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Museum COVID-19 Timeline, some of which impact or coincide with food delivery sales trends.
Check Facteus data on food delivery sales for specific states nationwide in this supplemental data dashboard, which tracks trends in food delivery sales on a daily basis. Updated as of February 4, 2024.
Although the CFDAS depicts only the most relevant events in the above animation, for a more detailed timeline of events of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, you can visit the CDC website.
