| Abstract [eng] |
The aim of research work: To assess the prevalence of students' use of ready-to-eat online food shopping services and the factors determining it. Tasks of work: 1. To determine the prevalence of students' use of ready-to-eat online food shopping services; 2. To determine the factors determining students' use of ready-to-eat online food shopping services; 3. To determine students' opinions about ready-to-eat online food shopping services; 4. To determine students’ opinions on how online orders of prepared food may affect their health and diet. Materials and methods: A total of 61 respondents participated in the study, aged between 18 and 26 years. All respondents were students of Vilnius University. The survey link was sent to Vilnius University students by email and shared in student social media groups with a request to complete it. The survey was conducted from October 2025 to April 2026. The questionnaire was prepared using the Google Forms survey administration software. Results: The study included 61 Vilnius University students, of whom 39 were women and 22 were men. The respondents were aged between 18 and 26 years, with a mean age of 21.48 years. Online ready-to-eat food delivery services were used by 67% of the surveyed students. Most students ordered food once a month or less often, the most popular platforms were Bolt Food and Wolt, and the usual amount spent per order was 10–20 euros. The main factors influencing the use of these services were convenience, fast delivery and a wide menu selection. Convenience was identified as a very important factor by 61% of students using OFD platforms, while fast delivery was considered very important by almost 42%. Information about food composition, the availability of healthier options and recommendations from friends or acquaintances were not the main factors influencing the use of these services. Students evaluated the availability of healthier options on OFD platforms critically. Three quarters of respondents believed that healthier options were more expensive, while 80% stated that there were fewer healthier options than less healthy ones. Clear labelling of healthier options was important to more than three quarters of students, and 77% of respondents stated that hygiene standards during food delivery were very important to them. Conclusions: 1. Two thirds of the surveyed Vilnius University students used online ready-to-eat food delivery services. A total of 67% of respondents reported using these services. Most students used them once a month or less often, and the most popular platforms were Bolt Food and Wolt. 2. The main factors influencing students’ use of online ready-to-eat food delivery services were convenience, fast delivery and a wide menu selection. Information about food composition, availability of healthy food options and recommendations from friends or acquaintances were less important factors. 3. Students find online ready-to-eat food delivery services convenient, but they are critical of the availability of healthier options. Most respondents believe that healthier meals are more expensive and less available on these platforms, so clear labelling of such options is important. 4. Students recognise that frequent online orders of prepared food may affect their health and diet. Most respondents believe that frequent consumption of ready-to-eat food ordered online may reduce diet quality and affect well-being, while hygiene standards during delivery are very important to them. |
