Let’s get food by Bolt or Wolt... (but not everyone is hooked)

Food delivery by courier may have ballooned during the pandemic but almost half of the population does not use this service, a MaltaToday survey shows. 

Despite the popular impression that ‘everyone’ is into this relatively new trend, 48.2% of people say they never made use of food delivery services. As expected, this cohort is largely made up of pensioners (65+) and those aged between 51 and 65. 

People were asked how often they ordered food using the two most popular courier services, Bolt and Wolt, and the overall results show that 21.4% do so at least once a week. 

Far fewer make use of the service three times a week (3.6%) or twice a week (4.8%). Additionally, 22% say they order food by courier ‘occasionally’. 

Dissecting the numbers by age group shows that these services are most popular among the young (16-35). Within this age cohort, 42.5% say they use food couriers at least once a week. 

They are also the cohort more likely to order food by courier more than once a week. The survey shows that 8.6% of those aged between 16 and 35 use food couriers three times a week and 9.2% do so twice a week. 

Occasional users make up 27.6% and only 12.1% never make use of courier food deliveries. 

The frequency of food delivery services shifts down a gear among those aged between 36 and 50. Within this cohort, a third (33.8%) never make use of the service, while 30% do so at least once a week, 5.2% three times a week and 5.9% twice a week. A quarter are occasional users of food courier services. 

Popularity of food delivery by courier wanes significantly among those aged 51 and over. 

At least 64.2% and 79.9% of those aged between 51 and 65, and over 65 respectively, never order food by courier. 

Among those aged between 51 and 65, 9.5% do so once a week and 4.4% twice a week. Among pensioners, 5% order food once a week. 

The survey does not give an explanation for this generational shift but it is very likely a question of technological savvy – the inability to use a smart-phone app and relative card payment – and possibly spending power. Another factor could be the fear of opening up your house to a complete stranger, especially among seniors. 

On a geographical basis, in Gozo the frequency with which food courier services are used is higher than anywhere else. While, 45.4% of people living in Gozo never make use of these services, 7.8% do so at least three times a week and 9.8% twice a week. However, only 16% make use of food couriers once a week. 

The Northern region is where these services appear to be most popular. This region is the one with the lowest percentage of non-users (37.3%) and the highest percentage of those who order food by courier once a week (29.8%). Additionally, 4.6% do so three times a week and 3.4% twice a week. 

The largest population of non-users is found in the Western region, where 64% never use food courier services.