Southeast Asia restaurants lose out as COVID delivery habit persists

Apps like Grab, Shopee gain users who no longer eat out, data shows

People gather at a restaurant in Hanoi: Euromonitor estimated deliveries at 8% of Asia's food service market in 2018, rising to 21% in 2023. © Reuters

LIEN HOANG, Nikkei staff writer

April 19, 2024 10:24 JST

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Dining out, it seems, is out. And delivery is in.

Across Asia, long after COVID-19 has dissipated, customers still have not returned to restaurants in their previous numbers. Restaurant dining makes up about 60% of the food service industry in Asia, according to market researcher Euromonitor. That is a sharp drop from 76% in 2019, data this month showed, with delivery apps such as Grab and Shopee making up much of the difference.