Deliveroo and Just Eat Are No Longer Restaurant Apps — They Are Last-Mile Networks

Open the Deliveroo app today and the homepage looks nothing like it did three years ago. Restaurants are still there, but groceries from Sainsbury's and Waitrose, beauty from Boots, and convenience runs from Co-op now share the front screen — and increasingly drive the basket. The story matters because the british platforms are evolving from restaurant aggregators into general-purpose last-mile networks.

The pivot in numbers Non-restaurant orders now account for more than a quarter of total volume on Deliveroo and Just Eat in the UK, up from less than ten percent two years ago. Average order values on grocery and retail are nearly double restaurant orders, and unit economics on the broader basket are materially stronger.

Why this matters for retailers Major UK grocers are increasingly treating these platforms as a meaningful sales channel rather than a top-up curiosity. The platforms, in turn, are investing in dedicated dark stores and white-label fulfilment for retail partners.

The food-delivery brands of 2020 are now becoming the on-demand logistics infrastructure of 2026. The label hasn't caught up with the business.

What to watch next Expect deeper retail-media plays, more own-brand experimentation, and continued blurring between food, grocery and general-merchandise delivery. For operators and investors, the read-through is clear: calling these companies food-delivery platforms badly understates what they have become.