Demand for delivery at Glovo during blackouts up by 7.7%, number of orders at Bolt Food by about 6%
Demand for orders with the beginning of massive December power outages at the courier delivery service Glovo increased by 7.7%, while at the online service Bolt Food – by about 6% compared to last year, the companies reported in a comment to the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
“Overall, during power outages, we see an increase in delivery demand,” said Viacheslav Levchenko, general manager of Bolt Food in Ukraine.
Glovo noted a gradual rise in the average order value, which increased 1.7% compared with last month and 19.4% year-on-year.
Bolt Food reported that its average check has risen by about UAH 60 compared with last year.
At the same time, Glovo said the share of orders from restaurants fell three percentage points compared with the period before widespread power outages and six points year-on-year. Meanwhile, Ukrainian consumers have been ordering more from grocery stores, whose share rose two points compared with the pre-blackout period and five points year-on-year, the company said.
Bolt Food added that a large portion of demand comes from major chain restaurants and well-known brands, including McDonald’s, KFC, BUFET, Eurasia, Lviv Croissants, Domino’s Pizza, and others.
“This choice is driven by their wide presence, brand recognition, and consistent service quality,” the company said in a comment to the agency.
Bolt Food added that Ukrainians have recently been ordering more hot and filling meals, with soups, burgers, pizza, and shawarma in the highest demand.
Meal preferences are also shifting: demand for burgers has fallen 10–15%, while orders for soups, full lunches, and main dishes like wok noodles or poke have roughly tripled. Demand for pizza and sushi has remained largely unchanged, though Glovo reported slight growth of 1–2%.
“People are increasingly using Glovo to order hot, nutritious meals that can replace a full lunch, which is not always possible to prepare at home,” the company said.
Glovo also recorded more than a 50% increase in demand for pet products and over 48% for meat products. Demand for essential goods rose more than 36%, medicines by 25%, and alcohol by 6%. Meanwhile, demand for flowers and frozen products declined by 10–15% on average.
Kyiv and Odesa show trends similar to the national average. In Lviv, Dnipro, and Vinnytsia, interest in lunch and meal orders remains strong, with demand doubling.
In Kharkiv, demand for “quick” meals such as shawarma, pizza, tacos, and chicken dishes rose 30–35%, while orders for ready-made lunch sets declined, Glovo said.