• by Teresa Buyikian , April 16, 2025

The pandemic may be in the review mirror, but casual diners haven’t returned to dining on premises in restaurants in the in the numbers they once did over five years ago. According to the 2025 Off-Premises Restaurant Trends report published this week by the National Restaurant Association, delivery and takeout customers aren’t decreasing in numbers anytime soon.

The report found that nearly 75% of all restaurant traffic now happens “off-premises,” which means that three out of four customers are now eating restaurant meals in their own homes.

Unsurprisingly, two-thirds of Gen Z-ers and millennials say “takeout is essential to their lifestyle,” with nearly six in 10 getting takeout or drive-thru at least weekly. Over 60% are ordering off-premises even more than last year, with 47% of all adults picking up takeout from restaurants, coffee shops, snack places or delis at least once a week, 42% reporting use of a drive-thru weekly, and 37% of adults ordering delivery once a week.

"Off-premises dining has become a key revenue driver and an essential way to engage consumers," says Dr. Chad Moutray, chief economist at the National Restaurant Association. "It now accounts for a larger share of sales for 58% of limited-service and 41% of full-service operators compared with 2019—providing a critical path to restaurant resilience and growth despite ongoing economic pressures." 

Apparently QSRs' ramped-up use of deals over the past year has paid off. More than 80% of consumers reported using buy-one, get-one-free and other offers, combo meals or specials on delivery and takeout orders. And membership has its advantages: 65% of drive-thru users and more than 60% of takeout and delivery users say loyalty program membership affects where they order.

Mobile has taken over as the primary device for ordering, with 57% using a phone for pickup and delivery. And three-quarters of all delivery recipients said they “value tech-enabled ordering and payments.”

Where customers live makes a huge difference in pick-up and delivery: Urban consumers refer to delivery and takeout as “essential,” while 67% of rural consumers “wish they had more options.”

There was one area where most agreed: speed. Ninety-four percent said “speed is critical,” with delivery and take out, with over nine in 10 also citing customer service as a “top priority.”

Looking ahead at areas of potential opportunity for restaurants, more than 90% of respondents said they'd order a greater variety of items "if the food maintained on-premises quality during delivery," and, of those, more than 50% would pay more for “packaging that supported quality during transport.” Deals and tech will remain top of mind; nine out of 10 reported they would use limited-time app-only offers, and 50% of Gen Z-ers and 52% of millennials said they’d consider ordering from an AI-generated video assistant.