App-Based Delivery Services in California Provided $19 Billion in Revenue for 151,000 Merchants and Restaurants Throughout Pandemic

Company data shows app-based delivery was a lifeline for restaurants and merchants during COVID-19 crisis, with fastest growth in smaller markets

A new analysis released today by the UCR School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development finds that the number of restaurants, retailers, and merchants that used app-based delivery services effectively doubled, from 77,707 to 151,311, from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021. The study also found that merchant revenues on the platforms tripled to about $19 billion from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021

The data suggests that app-based delivery services provided restaurants, retailers, and merchants with much-needed new revenue as COVID-19 health concerns and stay-at-home orders shuttered or severely limited these businesses. To conduct the analysis, UC Riverside researchers from the Center for Economic Forecasting anonymized data provided by DoorDash, Instacart, and Uber Eats.

“Our study demonstrates that app-based food delivery services provided a key platform for restaurants, grocers and merchants to reach consumers during widespread pandemic closures,” said Taner Osman, Research Manager at the UCR Center for Economic Forecasting and one of the report’s authors. “Sales generated on the platforms shot up as local restaurants, grocers, and merchants came to rely on delivery network services.”

Key Findings Include:

• Over a two-year period, from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021, the number of restaurants, retailers and merchants that utilized the platforms effectively doubled, from 77,707 to 151,311, while merchant revenues on the platforms tripled.
• From the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021, restaurants, retailers and other merchants earned around $19 billion through app-based delivery platforms in California.
• On a per merchant basis, revenues on the platforms nearly doubled, from around $11,000 to $21,000.
• The biggest growth in the number of merchants that used platforms over the two-year period occurred in relatively smaller regions within the state (such as El Centro, Hanford, Redding, and Madera). Likewise, revenue growth was strongest in regions including Hanford, Merced, Visalia, Redding, and Madera.

The report also details merchant revenue and growth across each of California’s metropolitan statistical areas from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021.

The complete analysis is available here.