Hunger games

Aggregators like Mr D Food and Uber Eats have changed the way we spend on meals. Choosing from an almost endless array of menus at the touch of a button, from the comfort of your living room, has eaten into spend at sit-down restaurants and traditional takeaway outlets. (Excuse the pun.)

We wanted to see just how far the pendulum has swung. How much more are 22seven users actually spending on food delivery, compared to eating out at restaurants and takeaway outlets? How often are they using the service and are they spending more per order?

Looking at average monthly spend per user, aggregators are in the lead. On average, hungry people with debit and credit cards who use aggregator apps spend R500+ more per month than people who buy from traditional takeaway outlets, and R100+ more than people who spend at restaurants.

But it’s not all bad news for restaurants. When it comes to average transaction value, restaurants still command the highest spend. This shows that customers are willing to fork out a little more for the overall experience of dining out. (There are only so many burgers you can eat in front of the TV, right?)

The final metric we looked at was average number of transactions per month. This gives us an idea of the popularity of the various channels, and here the aggregators are winning again. Users who spent on aggregator platforms did so more than four times per month – twice as often as users who spent at traditional takeaway outlets. This is likely driven by the urge for instant gratification and how easy it has become to use apps like Uber Eats and Mr D Food.

What does it all mean? By their nature, aggregators consolidate spending at various food outlets, so it’s logical that people will spend more per month on delivery apps than they would at standalone establishments. If we multiply the average transaction values with the number of transactions per month, this is exactly what we see. Side note: many of the individual restaurants and takeaway outlets are affiliated with the aggregator platforms and are likely sharing in some of the spoils.

This research is an example of our ability to analyse niche areas of consumer spending, even when private companies are involved. If you want to dive deeper into the world of food spending, or if you need intel on any other sector – retail, grocery, apparel, homeware, transport, communication, health and more – please get in touch.

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‍‍22seven is a safe and secure digital service that allows you to see all your money in one place and get a personalised budget, automatically. Our goal is to help South Africans take control of their finances.