I've recently read somewhere that market penetration of food delivery in the US is c. 3%, compared to c. 4% in UK (due to takeaway culture?) and c. 11% in China.

Trying to find actual source, but this was from a recent analyst report...

That seems to suggest people in China are receiving deliveries from restaurants within walking distance. Quality of food gets worse the longer it sits in a portable container. Chinese food especially. Deliveries are unlikely to travel much distance, given the traffic condition of Chinese cities.

I mean food delivery is becoming massively more popular each year w DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, Postmates, etc. collectively worth tens of billions. The trend is up and to the right. I believe in terms of annual deliveries the US is probably smaller but not that much smaller.

You ever notice how most Chinese restaurants in the US (especially in larger cities) have always delivered anyway, even before services like Seamless? The same is true of almost every small restaurant in China; the apps really only expand the delivery area and make it more convenient.

Is it? It is more popular then before, but not like China. From my time living in China, I can personally attest to the ubiquity of food delivery services at an easily affordable price. In contrast, it just doesn’t seem to be worth it back in the states, the service isn’t as good and it is way more expensive than in China, it is easier to just go out.

"Easier" is a weird word choice here. It's absolutely easier to not move from the couch, naked in your robe, and have restaurant-quality food arrive at your door than it is to sit down at a restaurant and fake some temporary civility across town. No contest if you have young kids.

It's not even much more expensive since the sit-down tip is replaced with a delivery premium. And I only tip the driver some bucks.