April delivery sales up 345% on 2019

Major restaurant and pub groups recorded a fourfold increase in delivery and takeaway sales in April from pre-Covid levels, CGA’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker reveals.

Combined delivery and takeaway sales were 345% higher than in April 2019, when the sector was fully open for eating out.

Sales grew by 11% from March 2021, despite the reopening of restaurants, pubs and bars for outside service in England from mid-April. Month-on-month growth in takeaway sales was notably higher than in deliveries.

The figures from the Tracker suggest that deliveries, takeaways and at-home meal kits, which have all soared in popularity during the lockdowns of the last 14 months, are likely to remain a major part of consumers’ habits well beyond the full reopening of hospitality.

“Surging delivery and takeaway sales have been a major side-effect of Covid-19 lockdowns and a lifeline for many operators in the first few months of 2021,” says Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA.

“As restaurants, pubs and bars reopen, the way consumers balance ordering in and eating out will be a major dynamic in sales and marketing strategies and a significant factor in profit margins.”

CGA’s partners on the Tracker are: Azzurri Group, BrewDog, Burger King UK, Byron, Drake & Morgan, Gaucho Grill, Giggling Squid, Nando’s, Peach Pub Company, PizzaExpress, Pizza Hut UK, Prezzo, Rosa’s Thai, Friday's UK, The Restaurant Group, Tortilla, Wagamama and YO! Sushi.

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