2024 Restaurant & Alcohol Online Ordering Trends
Discover survey insights on the latest consumer online ordering trends to guide your business strategy.
US consumers are choosing convenience
70%
of consumers ordered delivery in the past month
70%
of consumers ordered pickup in the past month
68%
of consumers dined at a restaurant in the past month
Shoppers want rich experiences that they can trust
Consumers today seek comfort and convenience — but they want to know exactly what they're getting in order to maximize their dollars.
They're researching new dining options, prioritizing the best menu selection and pricing, and want value from discounts and promotions. Consumers are also looking to friends and family for restaurant recommendations, as well as customer reviews, food photos, and social media.
Discovery starts with a scroll
Consumers across generations are influenced to try new restaurants by their online community and restaurants' digital marketing efforts.
Social media
When Gen Zers use social media to find new restaurants, 30% prefer TikTok, followed by 29% who turn to Instagram.
Third-party apps
More than half (51%) of consumers' preferred way to order food delivery is through third-party apps or websites.
Food photography
More than a third of consumers are influenced by food photography to choose a new restaurant, up 11% year over year.
Most-ordered foods on DoorDash in 2023*
French fries
Chicken quesadilla
Mozzarella sticks
"To grow in the current environment, we have to continuously evolve to meet today's consumer needs. We must listen to our customers, run each shift with a positive attitude, and do what we can to make our businesses a little bit better every day."
Mike Solomonov, Co-Owner of CookNSolo Restaurants and DoorDash Chief Restaurant Advisor
Most-ordered alcoholic beverages on DoorDash in 2023*
Vodka
Hard seltzer
Tequila
Quirky at-home dining habits
This year, we got personal with survey respondents. Turns out more than half of US consumers enjoy their takeout meals from the couch, and a third sit at the table. But when looking at generational breakdowns, 21% of Gen Zers most often eat delivery from the comfort of their… bed!
On the whole, about two-thirds of consumers eat their delivery food directly from the takeout container, but 55% of Baby Boomers tend to use their own dishes and utensils.
The Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report survey was conducted by Dynata on behalf of DoorDash, surveying 1,522 US-based people in March 2024. In addition to survey data, we analyzed anonymized data from DoorDash.
*Source: DoorDash Dash From the Past: A Decade Delivered. Using DoorDash order data from January 1, 2023 to October 31, 2023.