Australia’s metro living population are yet to be consumed by Uber EATS and its competitors. In a new report produced by ‘Nature’, statistics show only 67% of people have tried a meal delivery app.

Although meal delivery apps aren’t having an impact on traditional restaurant and supermarket spend yet, retailers cannot afford to rest on their laurels…In its short lifespan in Australia, Uber EATS is already more popular than online grocery shopping – which has been around for years.

So with just under half of Australians living in cities having never tried meal delivery apps. Questions arise as to why and the overwhelming answer is high prices and a personal preference to cook from scratch are to blame. So too is a fear that meals will not arrive as expected.

A bright future ahead for meal delivery apps.

‘Nature’ consultant Jason Morris said the fear that meals won’t arrive as expected is not unfounded. A -quarter of people who have ordered food through an app have been delivered the wrong thing.

“While the idea of Uber EATS is incredibly simple and is changing the way we consume food, the logistical challenge of executing seamlessly from kitchen to front door is all too apparent.” Morris said.

“As restaurants become more and more familiar with the Uber EATS business model (which they will as it becomes almost a necessity in metro areas), these errors will become less common. This could potentially bring down the barrier for non-buyers, opening up even more of the market for meal delivery apps to tap into.”

What might also surprise some is that Uber EATS while popular on reputation and name is not the most used service. Menulog takes the crown as the most popular form in Melbourne and Sydney.

The rise in delivery app use since last year is a clear indication that the way of the future is the click of the button. 41% of people are spending more than last year on the service.

Nature is a leading research and analytics agency in Melbourne.

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