Only a few short years ago, buy online, pick up in-store options at grocery stores were just beginning. Many people thought it would never really grow beyond its humble beginnings. Sure, Millennials are known for wanting to stay home and avoid people, and they love shopping from their smartphones, but who doesn’t want to choose their own fruit? Isn’t there something about feeling the peach in your hand, hefting the melon, and grabbing bananas that are the perfect shade of yellow?
Apparently not, because food delivery services have been popping up left and right. People are willing to pay all kinds of different delivery fees to have someone else pick out their food and deliver it to their door, ranging from using apps like Instacart that use contractors to deliver the food, to paying extra to grocery chains like Jewel-Osco that have their own delivery trucks. Analysts have tried to determine the exact cause of this phenomenon, but a combination of factors is more likely. A few of the possibilities are:
- People (especially Millennials) like to spend more time at home, relaxing by themselves or with small, intimate groups of family and friends. Once we get off from work, many of us want to go straight home and not go back out again.
- Faster shipping from more businesses (driven by Amazon Prime’s one-day delivery) means that perishable items can be delivered in a much shorter time, without risking the damage and spoilage of long trips.
- Phone apps make ordering delivery for all kinds of things, from cleaning products to groceries, easier, faster, and more accessible than ever before.
This increase in food delivery goes way beyond just groceries. Fast-food chains that never had a delivery option have registered with independent delivery services like GrubHub and UberEats to make everything as easy as ordering pizza. Of course, it’s going to cost you a bit more than a pizza delivery driver’s tip, but at least now you can get that Chinese you’ve been craving without leaving the house.
Lest you think that this fast-food delivery expansion sounds the death knell of the homecooked meal, consider the meal kit phenomenon. Everyone loves a good subscription, and with many of us trying to eat healthier and source more locally, meal prep kits are a fast-growing segment of the market. Services like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh send you pre-measured ingredients and the instructions to whip up a freshly-prepared meal, conveniently delivered along with the instructions right on your doorstep.
So what does this tell us about market trends? It’s not just about convenience. The grocery store of yesteryear relied on brand loyalty to push the same few options at us day after day. What grocery, fast-food, and meal kit deliveries all represent is a growing demand for alternatives. We don’t want pizza just because we want our food delivered, and we want the option to cook at home without running out to shop.
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