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Top 8 restaurant ordering, delivery, and pickup trends in 2023

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1. Food delivery and takeout are more popular than dining at restaurants.

When asked how consumers dined recently, 77% say they’ve ordered food for delivery, 76% have  ordered takeout, and 61% have dined at a restaurant. In 2023, over 80% of US consumers report ordering restaurant takeout and delivery the same amount or more often now than they did last year. Additionally, though 79% of respondents shared they cooked when hosting a social meal at home in the past month, 40% reported they’ve ordered delivery for their guests, and another 24% pick up takeout food. 

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2. People love curbside pickup — especially families with kids under 12. 

Ordering food for pickup is popular, especially among parents. The most common way to grab food when consumers order meals to go is via curbside pickup (41%), with drive-through coming in second (36%), and on foot being the least popular (23%). 

When we looked at this question by number of children in the household, curbside pickup was overwhelmingly more popular than other food pickup options. Getting kids in and out of the car can take a good chunk of time, so curbside and drive-through options can save busy parents the hassle. 

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3. Food delivery is often a last-minute save.

Nearly 3 in 4 consumers (73%) reported recently turning to delivery for an urgent situation where they needed food last-minute. Gen Z and Millennials (26%) are more likely to have had a last-minute food delivery need daily/a few times a week over the past month than Gen X (14%) or Baby Boomers (5%), largely due to busy lifestyles and a higher tendency to turn to delivery services.

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4. Ordering food from restaurants has become a weekly habit for most Americans.

Nearly half of consumers report ordering repeat restaurant delivery orders at least once a week. 

44% of consumers reported ordering food from a third-party app or website 2-4 times a month. Another 23% of consumers order 5-7 times a month, and 15% order once a month. Consumers who like the convenience and familiarity of online ordering apps enjoy browsing for new menu items, restaurants, and specials. 

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5. Diners prefer to order from local restaurants. 

A third of respondents (33%) actively seek out local restaurants with only one location in their area when ordering food for takeout or delivery. And all age groups ranked menu selection as the #1 reason why they choose to try a new restaurant. 

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6. Third-party apps are consumers’ preferred way to browse for food and order delivery.

When trying to decide on a restaurant to order delivery or takeout, 34% of customers turn to a third-party platform like Middleman delivery Service — a 10% increase from last year. And when ordering delivery, more than half of consumers preferred to use a third-party app or website like Middleman Delivery Service — a 43% increase from last year. For restaurant operators, a seamless online ordering experience helps to keep customers coming back. And tapping into the customer base of third-party apps like Middleman Delivery Service can help restaurants reach new diners in their neighborhood. 

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7. Social media and food photography help attract younger consumers. 

We’re not surprised that the generations of digital natives enjoy high-quality food photos and vibrant social media presences from the restaurants they order from. This year, we found that one in four Gen Zers use a restaurant’s social media pages when choosing a new place for delivery or takeout. And, 24% of Gen Z and 17% of Millennials cited social media influencers as a reason why they try a new restaurant. A third of respondents across age categories ranked food photography as an important factor when choosing new places to eat, with Gen Z including food photos in their top five reasons to try a new restaurant. 

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8. Off-peak orders are the fastest-growing meals for ordering food. 

Orders unsurprisingly spike around lunch and dinner, but we’ve also seen growth in late night orders (12–5am), with a 36% increase in orders in 2022 compared to the prior year. Breakfast orders (5–11am) also saw a jump in popularity, growing by 30%. 

Small businesses can take advantage of these off-peak hours and find a new audience of potential customers beyond the lunch and dinner rush. Consider extending your hours for a month or two, and track whether the increase in sales justifies the additional staffing costs.  

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