NEW DELHI: The food delivery sector has recovered to pre-Covid levels in various markets and in some cases grown beyond the pre-pandemic numbers led by affluent locations, food delivery aggregator and search platform Zomato said in a report on Wednesday.
“The food delivery industry continues to show strong signs of recovery. It is steadily growing to pre-Covid levels, with the overall sector clocking over 85% gross merchandise value (GMVs), up from close to 75% last month,” Zomato chief executive Deepinder Goyal wrote in a blogpost.
“With the ongoing IPL season and the subsequent festival season, we expect food delivery in both metros and smaller cities to make a full recovery soon – and resume growing over pre-Covid levels,” Goyal wrote in the blogpost.
Among the larger cities, while Delhi and Mumbai are nearing full recovery, metros such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai are still behind the curve. Region-wise, Eastern India has seen the best recovery, with Kolkata, Patna and Jamshedpur having recovered completely, the blogpost said.
Overall spends on premium restaurants have grown by over 25% over pre-pandemic levels. Zomato said, adding that with celebrations having moved indoors, Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Teacher’s Day, and Independence Day saw a massive spike in orders. “Customers who had not ordered since the first day of lockdown, are 20% more likely to order for the first time during such festivals and occasions,” the blogpost said.
As customers spend more time with their families, group ordering has become more relevant, and order sizes have increased by 20% over pre-Covid levels. Recovery on single person meals, which constituted nearly 60% of all orders pre-pandemic, lingers at 50-70% for most regions. On the other hand, orders with meals for three or more persons have recovered well and are higher than pre-Covid numbers, the blogpost said.
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