More than 60% of consumers in the United States order delivery or takeout once a week. And 20% of the consumers prefer and spend more on off-premise orders rather than a regular dine-in experience. It explains why the business of food delivery continues to boom.
When the pandemic first struck, nobody knew what to do. The authorities tightened the laws for gathering and socializing – businesses, especially the hospitality industry, were affected. At this point, even though food delivery was a thing, nobody knew that it would be the norm in the coming years – it was the new normal.
Why Food Delivery Services Continue to Grow
At first, food delivery services were meant to serve people because they were not allowed to gather in restaurants. However, the industry continues to grow even though the pandemic is waning. With last mile delivery services in place, the process is quicker, more convenient, and more efficient.
Last mile delivery refers to the critical last stage before a product is delivered to the client. In the hospitality industry, last mile food delivery is the stage just before the food is delivered to the consumer. Normally, the food for delivery is ready-to-eat and can be delivered to offices and homes.
How Last Mile Food Delivery Has Improved Food Delivery Services
For the longest time, a restaurants’ biggest problem with deliveries was difficulty in relating with the consumers directly. When people dine-in, you can get feedback on your services and gauge their satisfaction levels – this was not easy.
Last mile food delivery services come with the following benefits:
1. Restaurants Own Customer Experience
Doing away with third-party platforms allows restaurants to take their customer experience outside their four walls. With quality food delivery services, the restaurant can account for the quality of the food delivered and answer any customer questions.
2. Gives You Peace of Mind
As a restaurant owner, using last mile food delivery services allows you to focus on what you do best – making delicious meals. Given that you control all deliveries, you can tell how each of your customers likes their food and serves them.
3. Guaranteed Consistency
In the food business, there are peak times and slow times. However, for your delivery services to rank well, you must be consistent at all times. Having a professional fulfillment company by your side allows you to deliver at all times, including peak hours.
You can decide whether to rely on your existing drivers only or call for additional ones.
4. Providing and Managing Customer Data
When a customer orders food from your restaurant, the chances are that they will do so again, especially if your service is good. Having customer data helps you identify with your consumers, conduct proper remarketing, and know who to target. You can only have customer data intact if you have a reliable fulfillment team.
The Key Takeaway
Online food delivery startups have always had challenges, such as logistics dilemmas, pressure from customers (due to late deliveries), handling delivery and logistics, and competition from established players.
However, with fulfillment services now in place, most of the problems are solved. It is easier to keep customer data, reduces food delivery time, and gives you time to focus on producing delicious meals.
About Elite EXTRA
When it comes to scalability, automated dispatch and route optimization, Delivery Network, and enhanced customer service, nobody does it better than Elite EXTRA. We are committed to helping you grow and focus on what you do best — growing your restaurant.
Request a demo today to learn more about our services.
Resources:
https://www.nrn.com/sponsored-content/restaurant-takeout-and-delivery-are-taking-bite-out-dine-traffic
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/consumer-trends/stats-are-consumers-are-upping-restaurant-delivery
