Power Digital Launches Omega: Our AI Operating System Power Digital Launches Omega: Our AI Operating System
REPORT

Delivered, Not Discovered: What F&B Brands Need to Know About Delivery App Shoppers in 2026

62% of consumers used a delivery platform in the last three months. Only 13.8% say it’s where they discover new brands. If your delivery strategy is built on acquisition, the data says it’s built on the wrong assumption.

Power Digital surveyed 1,077 U.S. food and beverage consumers to map how delivery apps actually fit into the purchase journey, why consumers use them, and what drives the cart once they’re inside.

The signal is direct. Consumers open delivery apps to replace an errand, satisfy a craving, or reorder something they already know. 40.5% say familiar brands they already know are the top influence on what they buy. Only 18% say they use the apps to discover something new. Delivery is a conversion channel. Brands that treat it as an acquisition channel are spending upstream budget in a downstream environment.

Download the Report Now:

62% of consumers used a delivery platform in the last three months. Only 13.8% say it’s where they discover new brands. If your delivery strategy is built on acquisition, the data says it’s built on the wrong assumption.

Power Digital surveyed 1,077 U.S. food and beverage consumers to map how delivery apps actually fit into the purchase journey, why consumers use them, and what drives the cart once they’re inside.

The signal is direct. Consumers open delivery apps to replace an errand, satisfy a craving, or reorder something they already know. 40.5% say familiar brands they already know are the top influence on what they buy. Only 18% say they use the apps to discover something new. Delivery is a conversion channel. Brands that treat it as an acquisition channel are spending upstream budget in a downstream environment.

What You’ll Learn

  • Why 62% of consumers use delivery apps but only 13.8% discover new brands there, and what that gap means for acquisition spend

  • Why familiarity wins the cart. 40.5% of delivery shoppers choose brands they already know before opening the app

  • Where discovery actually happens. In-store at 45%, friends and family at 40%, sampling at 32%

  • The Delivery Readiness Model. Four strategic positions to assess before scaling delivery investment

  • Why high delivery spend with low brand awareness is the danger zone and how to rebalance

  • Three things to audit before increasing delivery app spend

Delivery app performance is not a delivery media problem. It depends on whether your brand is already being discovered, remembered, and trusted before the shopper opens the app.