The demand for delivery shows no signs of slowing down.

In fact, online food delivery generates more than $26.5 billion and is expected to grow into a $32 billion industry by 2024. 60% of American consumers order takeout or delivery at least once a week, and having an effective delivery and to-go strategy is essential to capturing this demand.

Capitalize on this opportunity by not only keeping a close eye on what you deliver, but also where you deliver. Careful consideration of your delivery zone can help increase efficiency — and ultimately, profits.

How to change your Grubhub delivery region

Ready to update your delivery region? Follow these steps:

1. Log into your Grubhub for Restaurants Account
2. Navigate to the delivery boundary tab from the left sidebar or menu dropdown on mobile
3. Click the pencil for the boundary that needs to be updated
4. Drag the end point to edit your boundary. You can also update the name or create a name for each different boundary
5. Click save changes before leaving the page

After you follow these steps, your delivery region will be updated. As you adjust your delivery boundaries, remember that you can create different delivery zones. You can assign different fees across your zones to account for further delivery routes.

Tips and tricks for the best delivery results

Creating a delivery plan requires strategy. You don’t want to create boundaries that are so large that you spend more money getting their delivery to customers, but you also don’t want to lose customers by limiting where you deliver. 

Discover your delivery sweet spot with these 3 tips.

1. Find the best route

Distance doesn’t always tell the whole story. Even if a specific location is miles away from your restaurant, it might still be worth delivering to as a way to reach new customers or satisfy increasing demand.

Before committing to a new delivery area, map out potential routes to get there. And don’t forget that highways or rarely used backroads can help shave off precious minutes from your delivery estimate. The easier it is to reach that part of town, the better chance you have of making efficient deliveries.

2. Get delivery help when you need it

Expand your restaurant’s delivery zone by hiring additional drivers or partnering with a third-party delivery service like Grubhub. Having more delivery drivers on hand can make it easier to take on new delivery areas while still getting orders out as quickly as possible. The result? A chance to target more customers and grow your business.

At Grubhub, we offer a variety of delivery services to help you reach more customers. Whether you want to tap into our professional driver fleet, use your own drivers, or do a mix of both, our delivery options can expand your out-of-house services.

• Self-delivery allows restaurants to use their own staff or delivery fleet to deliver orders placed on Grubhub’s website and app. Restaurants can control delivery boundaries and how much customers pay for delivery. 
• Supplemental delivery allows self-delivery restaurants to expand their delivery boundaries with Grubhub’s drivers. Restaurants can use both their own drivers and Grubhub’s. 
• Grubhub Delivery puts the responsibility of delivering your dishes to customers on Grubhub. Our drivers will deliver to customers in your area so you don’t have to worry about creating your own delivery fleet, getting driver insurance and scheduling deliveries.

Changing your delivery service strategy can boost sales and ease your workload.

3. Monitor location-based demand

Demand often dictates where to focus your attention. While most of your orders may come from a specific area, it’s helpful to take a closer look at your data. Customer location can provide valuable insight into new areas to consider.

If you consistently receive a bulk of your orders from customers in a specific area, surrounding communities could provide a similar boost in business. Expand beyond your restaurant’s top delivery destination a little bit each week to see if there’s similar interest nearby.

If you are looking to expand your business in a new region, try deploying a location-based promotion. Offering a promotion to a new customer base can encourage them to give your restaurant a try.

Grubhub changes the food delivery game

Ready to update your restaurant delivery zone? Grubhub has you covered.

Our site makes it easy to create or edit an existing delivery boundary in just seconds. Give new delivery zones a try to discover what works best. You can also create multiple delivery areas and apply a different fee to each. Once each boundary is set, make any necessary adjustments based on the weather or day of the week.

Looking to expand your delivery reach? Partner with Grubhub today to see how our takeout and delivery services can expand your business.