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A phenomenon dubbed "delivery guilt" is taking hold among Generation Z in the United States, as young people enjoy the convenience of food delivery apps while feeling increasingly uneasy about the fees and their own spending habits.

According to the British daily The Guardian on Thursday (local time), the normalization of delivery apps such as Uber Eats since the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled a growing sense of guilt among young Americans over ordering food for delivery.

Caroline Boldry, a 24-year-old nanny living in Raleigh, North Carolina, has used delivery apps almost every day since college. While she finds it natural to order in rather than cook whenever a craving strikes, she said she often ends up berating herself afterward. "Having any restaurant you want delivered to your door is a dream," she said, "but then I'm like, 'Wow, I'm such a lazy piece of garbage.' Nine times out of 10, I feel bad about it." She reportedly spends about $75 a week on food delivery.

Surveys by marketing firm FinanceBuzz and Bank of America found that 30 percent of Americans order food delivery at least once a week. Generation Z — those born in the late 1990s to early 2010s — posted the highest rate of any generation, with 39 percent saying they order delivery at least once a week.

Particularly striking, 45 percent of Generation Z respondents said they had felt embarrassed about how much they spent on delivery, and 27 percent said they had hidden delivery orders from roommates or family members, or understated how much they had actually spent.

Joy Lu, an assistant professor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University, described food delivery as an "affordable luxury" — a way to treat oneself without spending a great deal — but said delivery app fees can stack up and leave users surprised by the final bill.

Lu said many people either fail to realize how much they are spending on delivery or actively avoid checking. "A lot of people don't want to look at their total spending on the app," she said. "It's just too easy to spend a little at a time."

The guilt surrounding food delivery is also tied to a broader social tendency to blame young people's financial struggles on their own spending choices. Just as millennials were once criticized for being unable to buy homes because of avocado toast and daily lattes, Generation Z's delivery habits have become a similar target of reproach, The Guardian noted.

Yet some push back on the idea that delivery spending alone explains financial hardship. Economist Mike Konczal, citing 2024 data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, said grocery purchases account for a larger share of American household food spending than dining out or ordering delivery — suggesting households spend considerable sums cooking at home as well.

Boldry said she has been trying to cut back on delivery orders as rent, car insurance and other living costs have risen. "This economy is not for the weak," she said.


bbo@heraldcorp.com