---
title: "Online Delivery Became a $10.2 Billion Industry, but Restaurants Still Lost"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/6e21d472-5836-4a04-9fe3-55467f101efb
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/online-delivery-became-a-102-billion-industry-but-restaurants-still-lost-2711875
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
published: 2019-12-16T22:17:01.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:30:26.235Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/f1e41d4704a6e2f4fe5207f114699d858089.jpg
---

# Online Delivery Became a $10.2 Billion Industry, but Restaurants Still Lost

**TL;DR:** The online delivery industry has grown to $10.2 billion, but restaurants are not reaping many profits from this change. Restaurants are adapting to the trend by reinventing packaging, launching new store prototypes, and experimenting with ghost kitchens, but at a cost to themselves.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-12-16. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/online-delivery-became-a-102-billion-industry-but-restaurants-still-lost-2711875).*

## Story

**Delivery is more popular than ever, but one very crucial sector—the restaurants themselves—aren’t reaping many profits from this change in the way consumers eat.** **According to a report published by CNBC****, consumers ordered $10.2 billion from** **third-party delivery services** **in 2018.**

**It’s no secret that in modern times, convenience is king. “The consumer migrated towards having this expectation of things being at our fingertips, from other industries — the Amazon effect, you could argue, contributed to some of this,” Aaron Allen, CEO of restaurant consultancy Aaron Allen & Associates, said to CNBC.**

**Because of the popularity of online ordering and delivery, the landscape of restaurants is changing—literally. Brands are** **reinventing the way they approach packaging** **to ensure food travels well, launching new store prototypes, experimenting with** **ghost kitchens** **and** **remodeling existing stores** **to adapt to rush-hour demands. CNBC stated the Chipotle was one of the restaurants which adapted to this trend by adding a second kitchen line to locations in 2016 to accommodate mobile and online orders. All of this, of course, comes at a cost to the restaurants themselves.**

**Takeout-heavy restaurants such as pizza places have always relied on delivery as the bread-and-butter for their business, and third-party apps have swiped the market share right out from under them. Domino’s has notably resisted outsourcing delivery, and is instead focusing on** **upgrading its own in-house technology****.**

**In spite of their success, however, CNBC wrote that the gig-based services are** **struggling to turn a profit themselves****. GrubHub, DoorDash and Uber have all** **come under fire** **for their nebulous classifications surrounding the employment of drivers and couriers, and CNBC stated that these platforms will** **only be facing more back-and-forth** **over employee labor rights.**

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Domino's (company)
- Amazon (company)
- DoorDash (company)
- Chipotle (company)
- Grubhub (company)
- Uber (company)
- ghost kitchens (topic)
- CNBC (regulator)
- labor rights (topic)
- online delivery (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/online-delivery-became-a-102-billion-industry-but-restaurants-still-lost-2711875). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/6e21d472-5836-4a04-9fe3-55467f101efb).