CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday told investors food delivery isn't a habit consumers want to break, even as they feel the weight of inflation.
He looked at the recent successful quarters from DoorDash, Uber and Instacart-parent Maplebear, saying people seem more willing to spend on these services than other luxuries.on Thursday analyzed why food delivery companies are seeing success while many of their consumer discretionary peers suffer as consumers continue to feel the burden of. He said delivery is a habit consumers don't want to break, and they seem more willing to spend on these services than other luxuries.
"DoorDash and Uber Eats and Instacart can only put up numbers like these because food delivery has become a calcified habit for so many consumers, people who value their time as much as they value their money," Cramer said. "No wonder people don't have excess cash to throw around — they're spending it all on DoorDash."all beat Wall Street's expectations in recent earnings reports.
Although food delivery doesn't always offer great value, consumers built a robust food delivery habit during the pandemic which has continued and even grown,He added that many of these services have rewards programs that help customers save money, so the companies are trying to be more attractive in an inflated economic landscape.
"People seem to see delivery as a necessity rather than something discretionary, which is why these companies can put up great numbers when the restaurants are struggling," Cramer said.