As nearly 4 in 10 consumers used food aggregators in the 30 days before our survey, it might seem that these purchases comprise a considerable share of the restaurant market — but aggregator-facilitated transactions are still a small share of the business. 
Even in the digital age, consumers most often order food the old-fashioned way, meaning restaurants must focus on ways to reach more customers, whether in person or digitally.
In “The 2022 Restaurant Digital Divide: Food Aggregators Find Their Footing,” PYMNTS surveyed 2,217 consumers about how they interact with aggregators and restaurant apps and how they decide whether to have meals delivered, dine in a restaurant or pick up the meal to consume elsewhere.
Key findings in this report include:
• Nearly three-quarters of consumers using an aggregator to order food pick it up from the restaurant, making the economics more appealing to the customer and the restaurant. Four out of 10 consumers purchase and pick up their meals to consume elsewhere, and restaurants should recognize takeout as a profitable opportunity.
• Aggregator use is most popular among tech-savvy consumers who want to get their food fast and are willing to spend up to an additional 25% to do so. More than 50% of younger consumers use aggregators to order food, as opposed to 36% of Generation X and 14% of baby boomers and seniors.
• Taste matters more to consumers than brand or price, granting restaurant owners the freedom to offer virtual brands outside their core product. One-third of consumers defined taste as the most influential factor when choosing where to make their last restaurant purchase. Just 8% of the average shoppers and 9% of aggregator users pondered price over all other elements when choosing a restaurant.
Restaurants and aggregators must develop strategies to reach new consumers. To learn more about how they are doing this, download the report.