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Online food orders up during pandemic but not for most US consumers – survey

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Online food orders up during pandemic but not for most US consumers – survey

Some U.S. consumers are turning to grocery and restaurant delivery services during the coronavirus pandemic, though most are not increasing their takeout dining orders and still prefer a trip to their local market, according to a survey by Kagan, a media market research group within S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Out of 1,002 people polled in the survey, conducted March 27-29, 59.9% said they were not ordering more takeout meals and delivery from restaurants as a result of coronavirus, while 40.1% said they were ordering more from these services. Some experts think the coronavirus pandemic is pushing more customers to try ordering delivery from restaurants as dining across the country is forced to close. Companies are also getting creative with delivery methods to serve customers in areas with social distancing rules in place.

Many are wondering whether the pandemic and society's response to it will usher in long-term cultural change, John Fletcher, an analyst with Kagan, said in an interview.

"This might change our behavior permanently," Fletcher said. "But who knows, maybe we'll all forget about this in 18 months."

READ MORE: Sign up for our weekly coronavirus newsletter here, and read our latest coverage on the crisis here.

Of those who reported to Kagan that they had tried a restaurant delivery service for the first time because of the coronavirus, 115 respondents said they tried Grubhub Inc., 107 said they tried Postmates Inc. and 100 said they used Uber Technologies Inc.'s Uber Eats. There were 94 who said they were ordering delivery from restaurants for the first time.

More than half the people Kagan surveyed said they still primarily go to the market for their grocery shopping, while 17.4% said they do all their grocery shopping online and 21.4% said they shop both online and at the store for groceries. Still, online ordering from companies like Amazon.com Inc. has increased in ways that are straining supply chains and raising calls from workers for more support as they do their jobs during a pandemic.

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