With third party food orders up 4% since Q4 of last year, it's clear that third party platforms are only growing in popularity. This past quarter, DoorDash remained the most dominant food delivery service in every state, with the exception of New York, Connecticut, and Florida, where Uber Eats had slightly greater market share.

An in depth analysis on the state of food delivery on DoorDash, Grubhub, Seamless, Postmates and Uber Eats, breaking down the performance of leading restaurant brands on third-party platforms. The report features a deep dive into Pizza Hut’s 1Q22 resurgence after initially struggling to claim share on food delivery apps.

Cities come alive at lunchtime. Like clockwork, people pour out from their office buildings and into the streets searching for a bite to eat. This regular metropolitan cadence screeched to halt at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the past 2 years, we’ve seen a shift in the dynamic between some of Pizza’s biggest national players. We’re seeing Pizza Hut lose significant share over 2021 while Papa John’s has gained momentum.

As food delivery has become a more prominent part of many people’s lives throughout the pandemic, the platforms themselves have evolved to address a wider range of customer needs. Platforms like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub have prioritized grocery and convenience delivery as a growth driver.

Most restaurant sales happen during Lunch or Dinner but ~11% of sales in 2021 took place after dinner (a larger share than breakfast sales). We call these sales that take place between 9pm-5am, “Late Night” sales and it has seen steady growth over the past 2 years.

In a highly competitive space, like delivery through third-party platforms, it is difficult to convert potential customers where they are spoiled for choice. To reel these customers in, merchants often bet on discounts or offers to be the deciding factor.

With 2021 in the rearview, it’s time to evaluate winners and losers in the food delivery space. From a platform perspective, DoorDash still leads the pack with a wide margin over competitors Uber Eats and Grubhub.