Leading Brands in US Food & Dining Services: Q3 2023 Analysis

Introduction

In Q3 2023, the US Food & Dining Services category witnessed remarkable engagement among major brands, fueled by their robust web and app presence. Leading this digital charge were DoorDash, McDonald's, and Starbucks, each demonstrating unique trends and performance metrics. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data provides an in-depth look into these brands' digital strategies, highlighting their reach and advertising efforts.

DoorDash: Delivering Engagement

DoorDash's digital ecosystem, encompassing its website, doordash.com, and the DoorDash - Food Delivery app, stands as a testament to its market leadership.

• Audience Trends: Between Q2 and Q3 2023, DoorDash maintained a stable monthly deduplicated audience consistently above 47M. Despite a slight dip in website visits during August, September saw a rebound with over 92M visits.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users hovered around 37M, experiencing a minor downturn in August but recovering by September.

• Ad Spend & Channels: DoorDash's monthly advertising expenditure peaked in September at approximately $28M, with significant investments in OTT channels delivering over 420M impressions.

McDonald's: A Consistent Digital Presence

McDonald's continues to demonstrate its digital prowess through its website, mcdonalds.com, and the McDonald's app.

• Audience Trends: McDonald's saw a monthly deduplicated audience increase, reaching about 43M in September. The website maintained steady visits, with a slight dip noted in August.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users demonstrated consistent growth, nearing 21M by the end of Q3.

• Ad Spend & Channels: McDonald's maintained a strong advertising presence, with monthly ad spend peaking at around $25M in May. Instagram and OTT were pivotal channels, delivering substantial impressions.

Starbucks: Brewing Digital Success

Starbucks continues to captivate its audience through its website, starbucks.com, and the Starbucks app.

• Audience Trends: Starbucks experienced a steady increase in monthly deduplicated audience, reaching approximately 38M in September, with website visits consistently exceeding 27M.

• App Engagement: The app showed growth in monthly active users, surpassing 9.7M by September.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Starbucks' advertising efforts were notable, with monthly ad spend reaching over $11M in September. Instagram and TikTok were prominent platforms, securing a significant portion of impressions.

Conclusion

The Q3 2023 performance of DoorDash, McDonald's, and Starbucks underscores the dynamic nature of the US Food & Dining Services category. Each brand effectively leveraged a combination of web and app platforms to maintain and expand their audience. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data highlights these trends, offering unparalleled insights into cross-platform user behavior and advertising strategies.

For further insights, explore Sensor Tower's Web Insights and Pathmatics for detailed data on web, app, and advertising performance.