Food & Drink Snapshot: Quick Commerce Wins Big, Coupons and Recipes Surge

Consumers are downloading food delivery apps at higher rates today than they were even during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. That’s a pretty impressive stat, given the massive surge in demand that occurred when people were quarantined indoors. According to State of Mobile 2026, Food Delivery Services apps were installed on people’s phones more than 1.1 billion times globally last year. Together with Fast Food & Casual Restaurants, these two categories accounted for 77% of all Food & Drink downloads.

Delivery Leaders: Quick-Commerce Sees Surging Market Penetration in India 

Blinkit was the Delivery category leader worldwide, reflecting the transformation of Quick-Commerce apps (a rapid, on-demand delivery model) into daily essentials — especially in emerging markets like India. Taking a closer look at Quick-Commerce’s rapid ascent, we see that three competitors currently dominate India’s grocery landscape. The aforementioned Blinkit, which prides itself on offering “delivery in ten minutes” had the highest market penetration of the three, with 15.2% of Indian smartphone users having installed it. Zepto is close behind at 14.6%, and BigBasket trails at 11.9% penetration. Each member of the trio has experienced consistent year-over-year growth in this metric since at least Q4 2022, with Zepto enjoying the most rapid expansion (up 12 percentage points over the last three years). 

Americans Look to Save: Coupon Apps Get Huge Download Boost in the US

Within the United States, another trend is emerging: surging popularity for apps in the Food Blogs, Coupons, & Recipe Resources subgenre. In part due to soaring food inflation costs, the category’s downloads grew an astounding 52% YoY, receiving just over 4.3 million in Q4 2025. The performance of traditional delivery and restaurant apps has started to plateau in the US market, even as the categories expand globally. Appetite has shifted towards brands that facilitate strategic deal-finding and tasty home cooking — like ReciMe, a recipe organizer that saw its monthly active users (MAUs) skyrocket 12-fold in 2025.  

In an uncertain economy, even essential categories feel the pressure. While Food and Drink is a necessity, the subgenres that perform in the space will continue to be shaped by the macroeconomic conditions that directly impact consumers’ purse strings. In 2026, that might look like continued user growth for couponing and recipe apps, and a preference for companies that provide value without breaking the bank. 

Download State of Mobile 2026 for more exclusive insights on the Food and Drink economy — including dynamic charts on downloads, sessions, install penetration, demographics, ad impressions, and more.