COVID-Driven Reliance On On-Demand Delivery Platforms for Restaurants

Zhuoxin (Allen) Li — a researcher at Boston College — investigates whether and to what extent the platform delivery channel substitutes restaurants’ own takeout/dine-in channels and the net impact that has on restaurant revenue. Empirical analyses show that overall, restaurants benefit from utilizing on-demand delivery platforms, as these platforms increase restaurants’ total takeout sales while creating positive spillovers to customer dine-in visits.