Optimisation for delivery seen as region accelerates digital: Euromonitor International
The market research company joins the QSR Media Asia Conference & Awards to share insights on the delivery sector.
QSR Media is proud to welcome Deepika Chandrasekar, Senior Research Analyst for Services & Payments at Euromonitor International to our annual Conference & Awards.
She joins the much-awaited Delivery Panel, joining Grabfood, Foodpanda, Deliveroo and Modern Brands Holdings to discuss how restaurants and delivery companies are navigating the new normal.
Get Chandrasekar’s insights on delivery and more in this brief Q&A below:
QSR Media: From your perspective, how has the pandemic affected the industries you’re covering?
Chandrasekar: Although COVID-19 is expected to affect nearly every industry, the damage inflicted on the consumer foodservice industry is expected to be quite severe, with social distancing measures causing thousands of restaurants to shutter in Asia Pacific – a region otherwise known for its gastronomic landscape.
That being said, Asia Pacific’s consumer foodservice sales decline for 2020 is not predicted to be as badly wrought as some other regions like Latin America and North America, thanks to the relatively earlier recovery in countries like China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The pandemic’s biggest impact on the foodservice industry is possibly the shift of dining from institutional occasions to at-home occasions, giving a bump to modern grocery retail and e-commerce, as consumers explore ways to fulfil their meal occasions at home.
What emerging trends are you seeing at this stage? How are businesses and consumers behaving?
The pandemic has accelerated digital in the region as many foodservice operators have had to pivot to delivery overnight to be able to stay afloat and serve consumers. Delivery in the region is predicted to grow around 15% in 2020, as operators previously not present on delivery platforms have now sprouted, along with new delivery players themselves popping up to meet heightened demand.
Five-star hotels in Asia Pacific traditionally known for their premium, dine-in options have been offering food delivery services by transferring their premium services to the home of consumers. Livestreaming or online cooking tutorials to guide consumers is another trend that has gained momentum during COVID-19 to not only offset the decline in offline sales, but to also make marketing more creative to maintain loyal customer relationships virtually, and is expected to stay post-pandemic.
Since Asia Pacific is so diverse, and the rate of recovery from COVID-19 has been so disparate across markets, consumer behaviour is equally varied. While in many markets, the easing of lockdown restrictions initially saw long queues at restaurants that consumers have been deprived of for months, there still remains a sense of caution and people are generally favouring takeaway or delivery options to minimise their outside exposure. As such, consumers are expected to be pickier going forward in the service element of delivery as they adapt to the new normal.
How do you imagine a post-COVID environment would look?
We will likely see optimisation for delivery, multiple revenue streams, broader retail-foodservice coverage in terms of strategic partnerships for operators that survive, while consumers’ relationship with cooking is set to shift due to prolonged periods of enforced social distancing.
Hygiene and sanitation – needless to say, will be redefined and incorporated as part of standard business practices, while question marks remain around traditional Asian buffets and how they will come around. In general, foodservice in restaurants is set to contract sharply; yet, the future for prepared food with some kind of service attached is notably brighter.
Discover how your business should do delivery in the new normal. Register here to join the QSR Media Asia Conference & Awards: A Virtual Event.
