Transactions within China's online food delivery industry yielded 176.15 billion RMB($25.64 billion) in 2016, increasing 361 percent from 2015, according to a recent report from information consulting company BigData-Research.

Online food delivery platform Eleme topped the rankings, enjoying a 34.6 percent market share. Meituan Waimai and Baidu Waimai respectively took second and third place with market shares of 33.6 percent and 18.5 percent. According to the report, white-collar workers accounted for 61.8 percent of all users, while sales on campuses, in residential communities and other markets respectively contributed 29.1 percent, 8.3 percent and 0.8 percent.

Statistics indicate that first-tier cities and provincial capitals made up most of the top 30 cities in terms of market size. These cities accounted for nearly 85 percent of the market, a result of high transaction numbers per customer and population density in major cities, BigData-Research revealed.

The report also pointed out that food quality and safety are major factors in determining customers' choice of delivery platform, followed by discounts and brand power. Eighty-six percent of surveyed users were under 40, and 51.1 percent were female.