Growing popularity of food and drink delivery drives traffic patterns

Deliveries to stores and restaurants made the week of Christmas will far outnumber those being made the week of Thanksgiving, thanks largely to the growing popularity of food and drink deliveries, according to an analysis by fleet management technology vendor Verizon Connect.

Despite consumers' annual rush to stores on Black Friday, which falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving, deliveries will actually peak about a month later, Verizon's statistics show. Truck and van drivers made 29% more stops and drove 27% further for deliveries over the Christmas holiday than Thanksgiving in 2018 than the year before, the company said.

The data covers vehicles making deliveries and stocking the inventories of stores and restaurants, as opposed to e-commerce home parcel deliveries.

In larger context, the rate of retail deliveries in general continues to rise, as shown by tracking the number of stops and the number of miles driven by drivers supplying retailers and restaurants between October and December—which both increased in the U.S. by an average of 18% between 2017 and 2018, Verizon said.

Much of the growth was driven by the growing popularity of food and beverage deliveries over the holiday season, which showed large increases of delivery distances for both restaurants (33%) and liquor stores (58%) between the 2017 and 2018 holiday seasons, Verizon said.

These results analyzed the driving data of 3,961 Verizon Connect Reveal customers in 2017 making 2,592,966 stops, compared to 4,567 Verizon Connect Reveal customers in 2018 making 1,579,540 stops across the following retail categories: department store and large retail; apparel, accessories and shoes; furnishings; bars and restaurants; groceries; liquor stores; hobbies, toys and games; and specialty stores.

GPS fleet tracking lets you see your vehicles, workers and assets on a live map, but the data from telematics is how you can make real improvements in your business. Learn more: https://t.co/sR4fd2p4vx pic.twitter.com/CIX0AaqNAM

— Verizon Connect (@VerizonConnect) November 22, 2019