Port Washington, NY, March 3, 2021 – The COVID-19 pandemic shook the world in 2020, leading to one of the steepest declines the global foodservice industry has experienced in recent history, according to global information company The NPD Group. The pandemic interrupted years of growth in foodservice, causing a 20% drop in global* sales and a 21% decline in total visits in 2020, to 958 billion euros ($1.157 trillion USD).

While mandated lockdowns restricted dine-in options, consumer demand for restaurant food was not abated, leading to unprecedented growth in off-premises services like digital ordering and delivery.

With a global increase of 47% to 13.73 billion orders in 2020, the success of home delivery has allowed aggregators to advance rapidly in the food delivery business. All global markets saw increases in delivery orders, with U.S., Russia, Canada, and Australia being among those with the most significant growth. The U.S. and China made up the highest percentage of total visits across the globe at 31% and 27%, respectively. Global markets have also seen an acceleration in digital delivery services, which are defined by meals or snacks ordered via mobile app, internet, or text message. Digital delivery increased 67% globally, with the U.S., Russia, and Canada increasing the most at 123%, 117%, and 113%, respectively.

 

Annual 2020
Delivery and Digital Delivery Foodservice Visits by Global Market

  Total Delivery Growth Digital Delivery Growth
Market 2019 to 2020 2019 to 2020
     
Total of 13
markets
 47% 67%
Australia 61% 61%
Brazil 51% 68%
Canada 69% 113%
China 18% 26%
France 16% 28%
Germany 11% 26%
Great Britain 15% 18%
Italy 17% 23%
Japan 43% 68%
Korea 36% 60%
Russia 89% 117%
Spain 9% 30%
U.S. 95% 123%

Source: The
NPD Group/CREST©

*G13: France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.S., Canada, Russia, Japan, China, Australia, South Korea, Brazil

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