COVID-19 threatens foodservice operators with almost half of consumers cooking more at home

43.1 percent of consumers globally say they are spending more time cooking at home during the COVID crisis, which is hindering demand for takeaway services, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Following the latest publication of GlobalData Retail’s weekly consumer tracker, which surveys over 5,000 respondents across 11 countries about their habits during the outbreak, Thomas Brereton, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, offers his view on the situation:
“As restaurants in many countries remain shut and surplus time at home is used to create meals from scratch, both the demand and supply side of takeaway meals have been heavily impacted by the pandemic. This is a growing trend across all countries surveyed except Germany, and particularly prevalent in China, South Africa and Brazil.
“In response, players such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats are looking to reduce risk exposure by forging partnerships with food retailers, working with major players such as Co-op and M&S in the UK and Carrefour in France. In that sense, the virus is accelerating the existing shift towards online food shopping; however, all parties must be aware of the expected duration of such alliances, with more thorough reviews (particularly on the dynamics of joint responsibility for ESG, brand image etc.) needed as the outbreak progresses.”