Food-Delivery Services Will Struggle to Outrun Inflation
Consumers are likely to pull back on discretionary purchases as costs of household staples rise.
Business headwinds.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Inflation is coming for consumers’ pricey pandemic habits.
Whether choosing restaurant dinners delivered to their door or at-home meal kits, many Americans have prioritized convenience over cost for the past two years. Food-delivery was a big beneficiary. Some of the top platforms including DoorDash Inc. and Uber Eats enjoyed triple-digit growth rates, supercharged by Covid fears and the suspension of restaurant dining. Similarly, meal-kit provider Blue Apron Holdings Inc. was struggling before the pandemic and considering putting itself up for sale. But when the virus hit, thousands of customers flocked to its service.