Food delivery company Deliveroo said the gross transaction value (GTV) of orders on its platform rose 36% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, resulting in it hitting the top of its guidance range with a 70% rise for the year.
Food delivery boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic when pubs and restaurants were closed, and the popularity of the platforms has not faded since hospitality reopened.
Monthly Customer Base
Deliveroo said its monthly customer base had continued to grow despite the easing of lockdown restrictions, with eight million active monthly customers in the quarter, up 37% year-on-year and up 123% on pre-pandemic levels.
The number of orders grew 10% compared to the previous quarter, it said, and the average value stabilised, up by 1% in constant currency on Q3 to £21.40.
In the UK and Ireland, GTV stood at £945 million (€1.13 billion) in the fourth quarter, with 40.4 million orders placed. In its International division, GTV stood at £788 million (€945.6 million), again with 40.4 million orders placed.
Deliveroo, which listed in London in March 2021, said its guidance for gross profit margin as a percentage of GTV was maintained at 7.5-7.75%. It recently announced partnerships with retailers Morrisons and Boots, among others.
'Deliver Great Experiences'
"Deliveroo’s focus has always been to deliver great experiences to our consumers, help our partners to grow, and provide further opportunities for riders," commented Will Shu, founder and chief executive of Deliveroo.
"I am proud of what we achieved in 2021; despite a challenging backdrop, we continued to strengthen our customer proposition, widen our customer base and execute against our strategy. We are excited about the opportunity ahead and look forward to making further progress in 2022.”
The company plans to report its full-year 2021 results on 17 March.
Analyst Comment
Commenting on the group's performance, Nick Everitt, Edge by Ascential, said, “Deliveroo initiated two key partnerships in 2021 in efforts to stay relevant and compete in a fast-moving sector. The first with Morrisons to launch “Hop”, a rapid grocery delivery service promising delivery within 10 minutes. This move marked Deliveroo’s first foray into becoming a retailer in its own right in a similar way to many of its younger, smaller ultra-rapid rivals, which tend to be vertically integrated.
"Deliveroo also expanded into health and beauty retail last year via its Boots partnership. These partnerships are key in helping retailers to solve their last-mile delivery challenges at pace, while offering on-demand operators, like Deliveroo, the opportunity to increase scale and customer base."
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM. For more Technology news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
