One out of three Americans say they use a food ordering app at least once a week, according to a Purdue University poll released on Wednesday. Another third of respondents say they use the apps less frequently, sometimes letting weeks go by between uses, while 36 percent say they have never used the technology.
Younger consumers, under the age of 36, are the most frequent app users. About 4 percent of users place multiple orders a day. People with low food budgets are far more likely to use discount or promo codes than those with larger weekly food outlays, though income level makes no difference when it comes to tipping, said the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability. The center polls 1,200 adults each month on food issues.
Time and convenience are the leading reasons people order groceries online — a combined 51 percent — said a recent USDA report. Researchers said one-fifth of consumers with at least some of the responsibility in their household for groceries ordered them online at least once in the sample month during 2022. Like the Purdue survey, the USDA report said young people, ages 15 to 24, were far more likely to do online grocery shopping than people over the age of 55. Women were more likely than men to order online.