It is hard to imagine that we have lived through an entire year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen an incredible amount of changes in the behaviours and attitudes of consumers. With this in mind, we have seen a number of brands change the way they market their services to ensure consumers are satisfied, change the way they use restaurant accounting services and change the way they deliver their operations.
In order to fully understanding what is happening not only in hospitality but across the board, we are going to study a recent Deliveroo survey to get a better understanding of what consumers expect in the future of food delivery.
Eating Habits
An estimated 65{8105bdfbc696b7a4a1c164cd41e5b51966417809f6f737109e488121369dae8f} of all customers admitted to spending more on takeaway food in order to have something to look forward to later in the evening.
While 50{8105bdfbc696b7a4a1c164cd41e5b51966417809f6f737109e488121369dae8f} of customers have admitted to ordering meal kits to be simply used as a treat, Friday night being the most popular time for these orders.
Many parents are struggling to find the time to make meals with the added pressure of homeschooling and an increasing lack of child care available.
Throughout the lockdown, the popularity of burgers, pizza, fried chicken, and ethnic cuisines surged in popularity, there was also a greater demand for Mexican, Vietnamese and Korean in suburban areas where such cusine is not always available.
Consumers simply found that food delivery was one of the best options available. Throughout the third quarter of 2020, an estimated £46.4m was delivered throughout the United Kingdom, an outstanding increase of 43{8105bdfbc696b7a4a1c164cd41e5b51966417809f6f737109e488121369dae8f} throughout 2019. A number of brands took full advantage of this, with well over 20,000 new brands joining up with Deliveroo in 2020.
While there was a huge surge in the popularity of takeaway, most people are quite eager to get back to dining indoors at their favorite bar or restaurant.
Healthy Attitudes
Throughout the past year, people have been understandably concerned about their overall health and an estimated 48{8105bdfbc696b7a4a1c164cd41e5b51966417809f6f737109e488121369dae8f} of the population have been trying to eat healthier in order to keep their general wellbeing in check during the pandemic. Throughout the outbreak, a large portion of the population have been more interested in what it takes to support a healthy immune system and which foods and drinks are the best. With this in mind, many restaurants might want to consider additional healthy options.
Mindful Behaviour
While health has been on the minds of many consumers, so has the environment. Fifty-one per cent of all consumers are looking for eco-friendly options, 59{8105bdfbc696b7a4a1c164cd41e5b51966417809f6f737109e488121369dae8f} are looking for ways to reduce the amount of food waste, while 46{8105bdfbc696b7a4a1c164cd41e5b51966417809f6f737109e488121369dae8f} are seeking sustainable/eco-friendly brands.
Consumers are seeking ways to help support businesses during these challenging times. In fact, 80{8105bdfbc696b7a4a1c164cd41e5b51966417809f6f737109e488121369dae8f} of consumers are actively seeking out ways to help support local businesses. However, consumers are seeking out brands that care as well. They want to support brands that are actively supporting social causes and individuals who have been struck with COVID-19.
Additionally, consumers want businesses that care about the environment and the world around them more than ever. Consumers care about the situation of the world and the pandemic has set a chain of events into motion. People now see how precious the world and environment is in the grand scheme of things. Businesses can expect to see much more of a global understanding in the years to come and it is important to put together a stance for the world and environment in the here and now.