"On average, 65,000 meal orders were placed by 8 pm during quarantine": Swiggy

The first half of 2020 has been unlike any other year we’ve seen before. People across the country have spent months staying indoors and adjusting to the ‘new normal’. While many took to cooking and even baking at home, ordering in from select restaurants and food delivery services became a lifeline for those stuck indoors away from family, busy at work or bored with the ghar ka khana.

During this time, Swiggy, the on-demand delivery platform delivered food, grocery and other essentials. In addition to thousands of restaurants and several five-star hotels, national supermarket chains, local convenience stores and FMCG brands have partnered with Swiggy Genie and Grocery to make essential items and culinary delights more accessible to citizens.

Based on consumer behaviour during the lockdown, Swiggy released its quarantine edition statistics - an order analysis that reveals what Indians have been ordering for the past few months.

Here are the top takeaways from Swiggy’s StatEATistics: The Quarantine Edition, as highlighted by the brand:

Behind every person who didn’t step out of their homes, was a delivery partner who ensured they didn’t have to.

Swiggy made sure consumers got what needed to stay safe and comfortable indoors, during the lockdown. Be it food, grocery or any other essential items, everything was delivered right till their doorstep, with options such as no-contact delivery and cashless transactions where high level of hygiene standards could be ensured. Swiggy delivered millions of orders across categories during the past few months with zero cases of consumer COVID-19 transmission.

Saafdhan India.

While the battle is far from over, it is good to see people spend on safety precautions. Swiggy delivered over 73,000 bottles of sanitizers and hand wash along with 47,000 face masks as the definition of ‘essentials’ changed during these uncertain times. This is besides the lakhs of sanitizers and masks that Swiggy equipped its delivery partners with.

Distancing rules don’t apply to Biryani.

As far as food is concerned, data shows that when people weren’t whipping up Dalgonas or baking Banana Bread, they found comfort in their Biryanis, which continued to rule the roost with nearly 5.5 lakh orders. Clearly, no distancing rules applied to the ever-favorite Biryani! This was followed by orders for Butter Naan and Masala Dosa.

When you needed a pick-me-up, nearly 129,000 of you turned to Choco Lava Cake.

While last year, Indians indulged the most into Faloodas, this year, Swiggy witnessed the moist and decadent Choco Lava Cake grab the top desserts slot. Around 129,000 Choco Lava Cake orders were placed to satiate those sweet cravings in the past few months of the lockdown period. Gulab jamun and chic Butterscotch Mousse Cake followed suit. This surge is clear that in times like these, everybody needs a pick-me-up.

Even tummies expressed their mann ki baat at 8 PM.

Whether working from home or not, one thing is for sure - most Indians love to have their food on time. On average, 65,000 meal orders were placed by 8pm each day to make sure food arrives in time for dinner. This was thus the busiest hour for Swiggy delivery partners and restaurants. It was humbling to see people across the country, recognize the efforts of our hunger saviors a.k.a delivery partners by using the new feature for tips. On average, they chose to tip Rs. 23.65, with one particularly generous customer tipping Rs. 2500!

Key trends from Swiggy StatEATistics:

· Swiggy delivered nearly 1,20,000 cakes to complete these celebrations.

· Swiggy delivered 323 million kgs of onions and 56 million kgs of bananas.

· Around 3,50,000 packets of noodles were ordered during the lockdown.

· Swiggy Genie helped schools deliver books to thousands of parents across the country.

· One particular customer used the Swiggy Genie to get dog shampoo for his pet.

· Swiggy’s ‘Hope, Not Hunger’ initiative raised over Rs 10 CR, which helped serve 30 lakh meals to people in need during the lockdown.

Methodology: The above findings are derived from Swiggy’s order analysis in the past few months across cities that Swiggy is present in.