It has been around a year since the Coronavirus changed life as we knew it. Many things have transformed during this period including the behaviours, attitudes, and eating habits of consumers. These changes present a chance for the hospitality sector to evaluate how they can customise their services and advertising in correspondence with recent trends to ultimately satisfy the evolving needs of consumers.
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Deliveroo recently did a customer survey to find out what is occurring not just in the hospitality sector, but what the customer is searching for, what the customer prefers to eat and perhaps what is instore for food delivery. The findings acquired were very interesting:
Eating Habits
65% of consumers said that they have been paying more for takeaways in order to have something to anticipate.
50% of consumers confessed to ordering restaurant ‘meal kits’ as an indulgence, with Friday night recording the highest of such orders being made.
With the lack of child care and homeschooling, 43% of guardians admitted that they had limited free time as compared to before Covid, and so, the need for delivery became crucial. Although pizza, fried chicken, burgers, Chinese or Indian attracted the most orders during the public restrictions and lockdown, there was also a necessity for cuisines usually located in urban areas and cities – such as Mexican, Vietnamese, and Korean –amongst those residing in suburban areas where delivery options for meals like those aren’t always available.
Clients are shifting toward food delivery options. There were £46.4m food delivery orders made in the United Kingdom during the third quarter of 2020, which represents an upsurge of 43% as compared to the same period in 2019. A lot of brands look to be making the most from this, with Deliveroo reporting that in 2020, about 20,000 new UK restaurants became a part of their platform.
A McKinsey survey conducted in November 2020 reported that although there has been a surge in take-out, eating indoors at a bar or restaurant was found to be amongst the top three things that individuals are most eagerly anticipating. This indicates how people miss going out to bars and restaurants.
Healthy Attitudes
Naturally, health has been on the minds of many people in the past year, with the latest study conducted by Global Web Index (GWI) showing that 48% of respondents have been eating more healthily to improve their mental health and overall wellbeing during these unprecedented times. Correspondingly, Mintel findings showed that 30% of people have focused on healthy eating habits since the beginning of the pandemic, with more adults getting interested in drinks and food that improve immune health. Should more restaurants show healthier food and drink options on their menus?
Mindful Behaviour
Other than health, the environment situation has also been on the minds of consumers. GWI’s Connecting the Dots 2021 report shows that 51% of their respondents across the world revealed that they preferred brands to be more eco-friendlier, with 59% intending to minimise food wastage, while 46% intend to purchase more from eco-friendly and sustainable brands.
Consumers are willing to support businesses during these unprecedented times. As a matter of fact, 80% of Deliveroo clients revealed that they wanted to support local enterprises. But they want those brands to care as well. Consumers want you to show that you care about the environment and what’s happening within it in order to earn their trust and loyalty.