What effect has Covid-19 had on food delivery?
It goes without saying that Covid-19 has had a massive impact on most industries worldwide. Among others, the food industry has been battered with restaurants being forced shut and grocery stores only allowing limited capacity. Many struggled as their jobs were on the line in the culinary world, and many more struggled to gain access to food. Luckily, there was a clear solution to a dire situation.
Food delivery has been a relief to many of us as the pandemic stripped us of our everyday lives. In this blog, we’ll be exploring the effects that Covid-19 had on the delivery industry, as well as how food delivery has developed to help us through these uncertain times.
How has Covid-19 affected food delivery?
As many of us struggled to get out to grocery stores and delivery slots from stores became scarce, fast food delivery services such as Deliveroo and Just Eat saw a surge in popularity. According to IT and consulting company Capgemini, since the start of lockdown, search popularity went up by about 50%! This led to many restaurants that previously didn’t offer delivery services to partner up with third-party companies such as Uber Eats.
Of course, food delivery has been around for over 25 years, and even before the pandemic was quickly becoming the new norm. Top Russian delivery service Delivery Club believes that the pandemic only accelerated what was already a fast-growing industry, and that ‘even if there was no covid, then in two years the sphere would be digitised.’ Even without Covid-19, an industry led by delivery would soon be upon us, but two years is a huge leap. If this result was to be expected at all without the pandemic, it’s safe to say that it’s here to stay.
How has food delivery affected our lives during the pandemic?
In a world where people can’t go outside to get food, having a service that delivers straight to your door is a lifesaver, especially to those self-isolating. Not everyone has access to a nearby family member or neighbour that can pick up groceries on their behalf. Speaking from personal experience, I can vouch for how getting food delivered from the local supermarket was such a relief.
Beyond that, delivery services and apps have also evolved in time periods where lockdowns have eased. Oleg Khaustov, Head of Performance Marketing at Delivery Club, explored new ways their app developed to allow services such as table reservations and tips management. There’s even a pre-order feature where customers can ‘preorder and pay for your coffee and just take it from the barista – not standing in line, not wasting time paying at the venue’. This pickup method takes delivery and builds from it, avoiding contact-based transaction and saving the customer time. While this feature made good use of the contact-free rules around the world, its benefits are sure to hang around after the pandemic.
This just goes to show how important food delivery is, and how it hasn’t just shaped our lives in a pandemic but how it will forever be impacted by our lives in lockdown.
Thankfully, the pandemic seems to be drawing to a close as more people are vaccinated daily and rules begin to loosen up. Regardless, the world of food delivery has been changed forever, as Covid-19 has brought more reliance upon the service and more restaurants have opened up delivery services.
If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to check out our future blogs about food delivery and more food tech news!
Worried you’ll miss out? Sign up for our weekly digest today!
