Investigating experiences of frequent online food delivery service use: a qualitative study in UK adults

Abstract

Background Food prepared out-of-home is typically energy-dense and nutrient-poor. This food can be purchased from multiple types of retailer, including restaurants and takeaway food outlets. Using online food delivery services to purchase food prepared out-of-home is increasing in popularity. This may lead to more frequent unhealthy food consumption, which is positively associated with poor diet and living with obesity. Understanding possible reasons for using online food delivery services might contribute to the development of future public health interventions, if deemed necessary. This knowledge would be best obtained by engaging with individuals who use online food delivery services as part of established routines. Therefore, we aimed to investigate customer experiences of using online food delivery services to understand their reasons for using them, including any advantages and drawbacks. Methods and results In 2020, we conducted telephone interviews with 22 adults living in the UK who had used online food delivery services on at least a monthly basis over the previous year. Through codebook thematic analysis, we generated five themes: ‘The importance of takeaway food’, ‘Less effort for more convenience’, ‘Saving money and reallocating time’, ‘Online food delivery service normalisation’ and ‘Maintained home food practices’. Two concepts were overarching throughout: ‘Place. Time. Situation.’ and ‘Perceived advantages outweigh recognised drawbacks’. After considering each of the accessible food purchasing options within the context of their location and the time of day, participants typically selected online food delivery services. Participants reported that they did not use online food delivery services to purchase healthy food. Participants considered online food delivery service use to be a normal practice that involves little effort due to optimised purchasing processes. As a result, these services were seen to offer convenient access to food aligned with sociocultural expectations. Participants reported that this convenience was often an advantage but could be a drawback. Although participants were price-sensitive, they were willing to pay delivery fees for the opportunity to complete tasks whilst waiting for delivery. Furthermore, participants valued price-promotions and concluded that receiving them justified their online food delivery service use. Despite takeaway food consumption, participants considered home cooking to be irreplaceable. Conclusions Future public health interventions might seek to increase the healthiness of food available online whilst maintaining sociocultural values. Extending restrictions adopted in other food environments to online food delivery services could also be explored.

Response of the Public to Calorie Labeling in Food Delivery Application Menus

“…Accordingly, more than half of the participants (58.9%) in this study preferred to order through food delivery applications and not from restaurants, either to save time and effort or because of the ease of access to restaurants. The result in this study is consistent with ndings from other studies and a qualitative study on frequent food delivery application users in the United Kingdom [14,23,24]. However, two studies in Nepal and Malaysia found that saving time, but not effort, was signi cantly associated with food delivery application use [25,26].…”

Characteristics of food establishments registered with a meal delivery app in Latin America

“…The strategies of free delivery and discounts provide consumers with economic advantages, which influence the intention and behaviour of the use of MDA by generating in consumers a good perception of cost–benefit in the use of technology (27) . Among twenty-two adults living in the UK who had used online food delivery services on at least a monthly basis over 2020, online food delivery services were not used to purchase healthy food and participants valued price promotions and concluded that receiving them justified their online food delivery service use (28) . Since the majority of food promoted in MDA are not considered healthy, the highly presence of marketing strategies with great persuasive potential, including those that confer economic benefits, is a concern for public health.…”

Associations between area deprivation and changes in the digital food environment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Longitudinal analysis of three online food delivery platforms

“…These variations indicate different business models, customer bases and growth trajectories of the three distinct services. We believe that combining multiple food delivery platforms leads to a more realistic reflection of exposure to the digital food environment, where many customers make use of more than one online delivery platform ( Keeble et al, 2022 ).…”

“…The few studies that have been conducted have demonstrated that access to such services is associated with the use of these services ( Keeble et al, 2021b ). Qualitative evidence suggests that online takeaway delivery service users appreciate the services' convenience in obtaining takeaway food, view them as normal part of living in a digital society, and use them less for ordering healthy meals, but rather for ‘cheats’ or ‘treats’ ( Keeble et al, 2022 ).…”