Restaurant operators continue to play the convenience card in the race for consumer wallet share.
Costa Mesa-based El Pollo Loco Inc. and Lake Forest-based Del Taco Restaurants Inc. recently added to their delivery service offerings, inking deals with Postmates Inc. to bring the fast-food chains’ menus directly to consumers’ doors.
El Pollo Loco already offers delivery through service providers such as DoorDash Inc. and Uber Eats. Del Taco also uses DoorDash, in addition to Grubhub Inc. DoorDash and Grubhub accounted for the largest share of the U.S. platform-to-consumer market in July with holds of 36.5% and 33.3%, respectively, according to research firm Second Measure.
The deals with El Pollo Loco and Del Taco are expected to help Postmates gain greater reach in markets such as the southwest, according to Senior Vice President and Merchant Lead Dan Mosher.
Delivery is gratis for Postmates Unlimited members that pay for the $9.99 monthly subscription.
Delivery, either directly from restaurants to consumers or from third parties to consumers, is a growing business with plenty of momentum. Statista estimated U.S. revenue for online food delivery is expected to swell to $28.4 billion in 2023, from $20.1 billion last year.
“Food delivery has totally changed the way we live our lives,” restaurateur and Wahoo’s Fish Taco co-founder Ed Lee told the Business Journal in a feature last week. “Everything is instantaneous.”
Wahoo’s, by the way, offers delivery through Grubhub. Some of Orange County’s largest restaurant operators—ranging from fast food to casual dining—are also just as well diversified in their online food delivery options, including Taco Bell Corp., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., and BJ’s Restaurants Inc.
Consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 make up the bulk of online delivery users, accounting for 37.1% in 2017, Statista said, with the 35- to 44-year-old cohort the next largest at 25.9%.
