As someone who was managing the restaurant operations during the pandemic. It is safe to say that those days were challenging. The nationwide ban on gatherings of more than ten people, stay-at-home order issued by the local authorities, Social distancing guidelines, finding ways to ensure safety of your employees and customers during the operations and above everything the fear of catching the virus, I’d never want to go back to those times.
It is universally acknowledged that restaurant Industry has experienced particularly severe disruption due to the covid-19 outbreak.
To give you an idea, Restaurant employees made up one in four of those laid off at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. According to some reports, full-service restaurants’ global dine-in traffic declined by a whopping 89% as compared to the previous year. And Industry experts suggested It is unlikely that the restaurant business will ever revert to its pre-pandemic state, And they emphasized on rebuilding the restaurant industry, Indicating it must eventually become more robust and sustainable. Governments have acted with remarkable promptitude to protect jobs and businesses in order to revitalize and restore the dining industry. This was significant in smoothening the transition towards a “new normal”. During the early stages of the pandemic, people began bringing restaurant food home with them. And they’re back in restaurants to enjoy their meal.
Major changes happened in restaurant industry due to covid
Several measures are being adopted by the hotel industry in order to thrive in the new normal. quoting Charles Darwin’s famous statement “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
Food delivery started to take off
As the pandemic revealed to consumers across the globe that eating out is not always necessary for a satisfying meal And this made restaurants realize that they could be successful outside of the dining room as well. When demand spiked, delivery services intervened and gave restaurants an alternative to generate revenue. Consequently the food delivery industry flourished in a great deal. However restaurants do not profit significantly from third-party deliveries due to the exorbitant commission fees (I think i should be writing another blog on this very topic). However realizing the importance of serving customers at home. Even those restaurants that did not offer delivery earlier, began to collaborate with third party delivery services. Subsequently the increase in business caused these delivery platforms to lower their commission charges on restaurants. It is to be noted that these Online Food Delivery [OFD] platforms in order to ensure the safety of both customers as well as delivery executives implemented contactless food delivery where the delivery person and the customer don’t come into direct contact while delivering the food. With the food being dropped of at the door or another specified location. This method became very popular during pandemic as a means of lowering the virus’s potential to spread. In general, restaurants and customers benefit from contactless delivery. As per reports globally, digital restaurant delivery grew by 67% during COVID-19.
Data Source: statista.com >> https://www.statista.com/statistics/1238955/digital-restaurant-food-delivery-growth-in-selected-countries-worldwide/
Despite the fact that throughout the pandemic, consumer demand for online food delivery increased globally. India a hugely populated country witnessed a significant drop of around 50-60% during the first wave started in March 2020. According to a June 2020 Rakuten survey, many Indians were focused on improving their home cooking abilities instead of ordering meals online. to reduce unwanted expenses to ensure hygiene and safety. According to reports Swiggy and Zomato, the two biggest delivery companies, had to fire some of their drivers or lower their pay. Food delivery services actively contacted customers to assure the safety of the food, In an effort to alter their opinions. They did this by fortifying their marketing activities in every manner imaginable. by implementing contact-less delivery, Live body temperature details of delivery executives. Additionally, the customers were notified to move their food to a different container after delivery and reheat it before eating. Several Last mile delivery companies partnered with FMCG, Retail brands to deliver essential grocery products. Popular brands like Dominoes India and ITC have teamed up to supply food and essential groceries during those days.
Accelerated Digital Transformation in the Restaurant Sector
It was not a secret in the restaurant industry that Consumer Spending on groceries, prepared foods will probably return to pre-pandemic levels after the pandemic. For a while at least, consumers are likely to eat at home until they are accustomed to the “New-normal”. However adapting to these novel circumstances will be a tough task. The difficulties vary depending on how each restaurant was positioned before the pandemic, including their financial and market standing, their digital solutions in place. In addition, they need to deal with dynamic customer behavior and government COVID-19 regulations. With the rise in demand for contactless delivery brought on by the pandemic, a lot of restaurants quickly adopted digital ordering and payment. Quick service restaurants had the advantage over other restaurant businesses since many of them already had drive-throughs, delivery services, or some kind of digital approach in place. The availability of Drive through and take away services ensured a head start to get back to business faster as lockdown restrictions began to ease. Thus establishing efficient online/minimal contact sales channels became significant for restaurants to thrive in the “New-Normal Days”. The benefits of digitization in restaurant businesses was not just limited to boosting the revenue, It has positive impacts to what are referred to be “back of house” activities (BOH), such as Inventory & supply management, human resources, and the finance/accounting pertaining to the restaurant, And the external processes linked to front of house activities (FOH), other than direct sales such as customer relations management (CRM)/ Customer loyalty programs to enhance the customer engagement. Additionally in the initial days of “re-open” digital communications were highly useful to keep both employees and customers safe by notifying them about importance of adhering to safety guidelines such as social distancing and Use of mask. Adopting technology to customize consumer experiences has become vital for Restaurants to be profitable in the post-Covid era. It is crystal clear that digital transformation of restaurants can enhance Business performance both directly and indirectly. Directly, since it improves return on equity, return on assets customer retention; indirectly, because it lowers costs, boosts operational effectiveness, and fosters innovation.Market.us estimates that with the current surge in demand for Restaurant digitization channels. the size of the global restaurant digitalization market will reach around USD 29.6 billion by 2032, up from USD 7.9 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3% from 2023 to 2032.
Data Source: Market.Us >> https://market.us/report/restaurant-digitalization-market/
The New Standard for Restaurant Hygiene and Cleaning
Food safety and cleanliness have always been crucial components of the Restaurant sector, they are now even more important in the post-pandemic era. Governments all across the world imposed stringent regulations on food safety and cleanliness during the pandemic. Now after the pandemic They are very crucial when it comes to averting hazards in dining spaces. PwC recently stated that customers are impacted by their level of confidence in a brand, which invariably includes restaurants they can trust to be clean and safe. Whereby restaurants must place a high priority on cleanliness And safety. As everyone knows precautions, including use of masks and ensuring a six-feet gap between seats, Gradually reduced as the virus became less lethal however measures such as frequent hand washing, hand sanitizer stations for guests, and routine disinfection, became customary in restaurants worldwide. This demonstrates how seriously the industry has taken hygiene And cleanliness. However, there’s more. Many restaurants have reconfigured their seats in order to provide more flexible seating options for customers highlighting customer comfort and safety. The restaurant industry, or more specifically, those eateries that desired to prosper in the new normal by embracing the change looked very different, post the pandemic and in a positive manner, Guaranteeing patrons a wonderful dining experience exceeding the pre-pandemic level.