Ready meal deliveries surge as convenience drives food purchases

Despite the average supermarket stocking a mere 35,000 items and the amount of cookbooks published every year populate, modern day consumers are finding it increasingly hard to find the time to carry out daily chores. Consequently, consumers seek appropriate solutions in all aspects of life, including cooking.

As part of GlobalData’s 2016 Q3 global consumer survey, people were asked what convenience features appeal to them the most when purchasing food and drink products to consume at home.

According to GlobalData’s 2016 consumer survey, almost half (45%) of global consumers say that they prioritize convenience-related features such as ease of preparing food and drinks, whilst nearly one fifth (17%) say that they prioritize ready-to-consume food and drink products for convenience. The data implies that consumers assign greater utility to personal time, thus seeking convenient and quick food options which enable the consumer to alleviate stressful evenings and avoid the bore of cooking.

As the art of cooking enters a slow and prolonged decline, food box subscriptions, such as Freshly and Gousto which launched in the UK are likely to become obsolete.

Nevertheless, it is possible now that consumers demand a more lavish prepared meal; maybe instead of a burger and chips, time-pressed consumers will order seasoned sweet asparagus and fillets of salmon – ready to munch on. With all the demands of modern society, supermarkets have recognized the opportunity to bring meals directly to the consumers’ door.

Marks & Spencer, one of the UK’s leading supermarkets, has recently launched an online food delivery service which allows consumers to have delicious ready meals sent to their home, all within an hour. The first trial is based in Camden, north London, and offers a limited range including Thai green curry and pizza. The convenience of such a premium home delivery service is likely to appeal to urban shoppers seeking time-saving solutions without leaving the comfort of their home.

Uber launched a similar service in the UK, allowing consumers to order food directly to their door from a range of 2,000 restaurants. Just like their existing car booking service, consumers can use an app to browse various menus and order food to their location, determined by GPS. Jambu Palaniappan, regional general manager at UberEats, believes the service mirrors transport – improving “efficiency” and “cost savings”. Indeed, this convenient and easy to use platform is expected to attract busy city-goers seeking a cooked meal from their home.

In the next 5 to 10 years, we can expect our traditional culinary plans to experience radical changes – as a new wave of healthy and fully prepared meals are delivered to our homes, thus eliminating the need to either purchase or cook ingredients. Finally, as the tech bubble continues to inflate, app-based services will dominate the scene, giving consumers the opportunity to order meals even when on the move.