Deliveries rise and takeaways stabilise as restaurants grow at-home sales by 6% in September  – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

Britain’s leading restaurant groups achieved like-for-like sales growth of 6.0% in delivery and takeaway sales in September 2024, according to CGA by NIQ’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker.

The figure represents a slight strengthening from growth of 4.6% in August. Year-on-year trading has been comfortably above the rate of inflation in every month of 2024 so far.

The Tracker shows restaurants’ at-home sales continue to be powered by deliveries, which finished 8.5% ahead of the levels of September 2023. They accounted for nearly 12% of restaurants’ total sales last month.

Groups were also buoyed by 0.7% growth in takeaway and click-and-collect sales—a second successive month of fractional growth after a long-term decline in trading as consumers switched to the convenience of deliveries. However, deliveries now account for 57% of restaurants’ total at-home orders, with takeaways and click-and-collects sharing 43%.

Karl Chessell, CGA by NIQ’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said, “Growth in deliveries and takeaways has outstripped in-venue sales for most of 2024, and September’s poor weather meant many consumers continued to order in their restaurant meals rather than eat out.

“The modest revival of pick-up orders is an encouraging sign of stability, though growth here is being achieved by price rises rather than extra volumes. With spending still tight, real-terms growth in either channel will be hard earned for some time to come.”