The gig economy is back in expansion mode. In the first three quarters of 2025, global downloads for Rideshare and Food Delivery apps soared, climbing a robust 16% and 40% year-over-year (YoY), respectively. This rapid revival has sparked an intense digital advertising arms race in the United States, with Rideshare ad spend rising 37% YoY in Q3 2025, closely followed by a 28% increase for Food Delivery. Our latest State of Food Delivery & Rideshare Report dives deep into the high-stakes trends shaping these competitive markets, revealing the critical role of strategic partnerships, international market shifts, and aggressive advertising strategies.

Different Paths to Growth: Food Delivery Achieves Recovery, Rideshare Holds Momentum

The two sectors of the gig economy are showing robust global download growth in the first half of 2025, but they arrived via sharply different paths. Following the easing of global COVID-19 restrictions, Food Delivery app downloads experienced a notable downturn in 2022 as consumer dining habits shifted back to restaurants. Despite that slump, worldwide downloads have shown a steady, strong recovery from H1 2023 through H1 2025, reaching nearly 450 million. This powerful comeback was largely fueled by explosive growth in India, which soared by an astonishing 147% year-over-year in H1 2025. 

In contrast, the worldwide Rideshare market is on a sustained, predictable growth trajectory. Downloads have climbed consistently, from 280 million in H1 2022 to surpass 400 million in H1 2025. This solid upward trend is further amplified by a clear seasonal pattern, with downloads reliably surging in the second half of the year, driven by heightened travel demand during summer and holiday seasons.

Asia Dominates Global Food Delivery, Driven by India’s Ultra-Fast Grocery Boom

The center of gravity for Food Delivery has decisively shifted to Asia. The region has solidified its position as the top market for app downloads, with volume surging by an incredible 78% in the first three quarters of 2025 YoY. This accelerated growth allowed Asia to capture more than 55% of the global market share in Q3 2025, representing an impressive 10 percentage point (ppt) increase from the previous year.

This rapid expansion is overwhelmingly driven by the ultra-fast grocery delivery trend in India. Key players like Bigbasket, Blinkit, and Zepto have seen phenomenal uptake across the first three quarters of 2025. In stark contrast, mature markets—including North America, Europe, and Latin America—have seen their combined share of the global market significantly decline, losing a collective 10 ppts in Q3 2025 compared to Q3 2024.

The Digital Arms Race: Food Delivery Titans Battle for Dominance

The return of positive growth in key mature markets like the United States and Europe has ignited a major competitive battle for consumer attention. In the US, Food Delivery ad investment has grown consistently quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), culminating in an aggressive 28% YoY growth in Q3 2025. This high-stakes spending is dominated by two titans: DoorDash leads with a significant 31% share of ad impressions, followed closely by Uber Eats at 24%.

Meanwhile, India's digital ad spend is on a hyper-accelerated trajectory, fueled almost entirely by the explosive growth of ultra-fast grocery delivery. Investment doubled from Q2 2024 to Q3 2025 and is heavily concentrated. Ultra-fast grocery advertisers like Blinkit, Zepto, BigBasket, and Instamart collectively commanded a staggering 93% of ad impressions.

Looking ahead, advertisers in Canada, Germany, Spain, and the UK tend to execute a strategic seasonal spike in Q4. These planned investment surges are directly tied to holiday-related promotions and campaigns, making the coming months the most critical period for customer acquisition in those markets.

DoorDash Captures the Gamer Audience with Aggressive Twitch Investment

DoorDash is effectively targeting the high-value gaming demographic, recognizing that these consumers frequently order food during long sessions. The company has demonstrated its commitment by significantly increasing its total ad spend on Twitch by 153% YoY in the first three quarters of 2025. This aggressive pivot caused the share of DoorDash’s total video and display ad spend allocated to Twitch to soar by 24 percentage points (ppts) to 71% during that period.

The strategy is paying off: DoorDash is clearly winning the gaming demographic, with platform penetration rising to 22% among PC Gamers and 21% among Console Gamers in H1 2025. This success is in sharp contrast to Uber Eats, which executed a near-total pull back of its video and display ad investment on Twitch and saw its penetration continue to decline YoY across both demographics.

Explore More in the Full Report

This was just a sneak peek into the major shifts defining the gig economy in 2025. Are you ready to dive deeper and gain a competitive edge?

Download the 30+ page State of Food Delivery & Rideshare Report to unlock dozens of interactive charts and exclusive data points you can’t find anywhere else, including:

• Global Market Drivers: Discover exactly which international and regional markets are fueling the biggest download surges for Food Delivery and Rideshare apps in 2025.

• High-Value Audiences: Explore the core demographics for both Food Delivery and Rideshare and see how top apps are successfully capturing high-engagement consumer segments (like the gaming community!).

• Partnership Playbook: Understand the strategic rationale behind major alliances, such as DoorDash’s partnerships with Lyft and HBO Max, and how they are successfully building new customer bases.

• The Ad Strategy Toolkit: See the precise markets seeing the largest increases in ad spend and identify the most effective digital channels (like OTT and social) for expanding your audience.

• Market Prioritization: Find out exactly which countries and US states apps like Uber and Lyft are prioritizing with their marketing and expansion efforts.

Don't miss out on the data that’s driving the future of the gig economy. Download the full report today!