Grubhub’s Campus Endeavors Thrive Despite Declining Order Volumes

Fewer Americans are turning to Grubhub for their meal deliveries, according to the latest earnings report from the food delivery platform’s parent company, Dutch firm Just Eat Takeaway. The report showed a 6% decline in order volume across the business, with a 12% drop specifically in North America. This decrease resulted in orders dropping from 74.1 million in 2023 to 63.9 million this year. In addition, Gross Transaction Value (GTV) was down 11% for North America but up 11% in the U.K. and Ireland. This decline follows a similar trend from the previous quarter, where order volumes dropped 13% year over year to 67 million and GTV was down 15%.

Management revealed during an earnings call that they are actively exploring the potential sale of Grubhub. Despite the overall decline in orders, there was a bright spot in Grubhub’s campus ordering offering, which saw orders increase by 28% year over year. This segment now accounts for 18.18% of orders in the North America segment and is expected to continue its growth in the future, becoming a significant part of the business over time.

The growth in the campus ordering segment comes at a time when consumers are experiencing higher prices at restaurants. Recent government data shows that food consumed away from home, such as restaurant meals, is now 4.2% more expensive than a year ago. Despite this, research has shown that a majority of consumers, across different income and demographic levels, still spend on restaurants and bars. However, there is some evidence of financial pressure in this area.

Just Eat also announced that it will be ending its operations in New Zealand. During the question-and-answer portion of the call, management explained that this decision was due to New Zealand being a small market where the company was not one of the leading players. While it was a difficult decision, they expressed that it was necessary for the business. On the other hand, Australia is a different situation, as Just Eat is one of the larger players in the country and will continue its operations there.