May’s delivery and takeaway sales at Britain’s leading restaurant and pub groups were 273% higher than in May 2019, CGA’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker reveals. The figure is down on the Tracker’s 2021-on-2019 growth of 345% in April, following the reopening of hospitality for inside service in the second half of May. However, it indicates that deliveries and takeaways are certain to remain a much more significant element of groups’ operations than they were before COVID-19.

CGA’s Hospitality at Home Tracker shows growth in delivery sales was more than twice as high as takeaways, thanks in large part to the rising popularity of third party delivery platforms. Combined, they accounted for nearly half (49.7%) of restaurant and pub groups’ sales in May, with eat-in contributing the remainder (50.3%).

While many consumers seized the chance to eat out again, hospitality’s reopening for inside service isn’t diminishing the appeal of deliveries and takeaways,” says Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA. “With the quality and convenience of at-home ordering rising, the lockdowns of the last 15 months have firmly embedded it in people’s habits. It will be fascinating to see where the balance of eating-out and ordering-in settles as COVID-19 restrictions loosen.”

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