Restaurants & Dining
As the restaurant industry faces continued operational challenges and indoor dining constraints loom across the country, many consumers are turning to food delivery apps.
Even with a partial lifting of lockdown measures, the coronavirus continues to limit movement of people—and this has hit the UK high street hard. From retailers with a high dependency on physical stores to restaurants and coffee shops without delivery facilities, the obstacles have proven insurmountable for some. For others, the longer-term question is, "Will the UK high street be able to recover when (and if) normalcy returns?"
In a signal that it has flattened the curve, China reported zero new domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 in the mainland last month, though that may slightly change as there have been cases brought back by overseas returnees. (Additionally, there is some speculation around the accuracy of these reports.) Editors Note: Since this article's original publication, one county in China has gone into total lockdown again amid fear of a second wave of COVID-19 cases.
Following protocols and updates suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most restaurants across the US are adjusting their services to offer takeout and delivery only—relying on services like Caviar, DoorDash and Seamless to help get meals to consumers at home.
We spoke with Lone Thomsen, who was recently appointed global CMO of The Meatless Farm Co. The former head of media and communications at The Coca-Cola Co. discusses the brand's new partnership, its US market expansion and why plant-based diets are becoming so trendy.
Food delivery, while once niche, is becoming more mainstream. This year saw the explosion of fast food giants like McDonald's and Burger King going all-in on digital ordering and delivery through partnerships with UberEats and Grubhub, momentum that's certain to continue throughout 2019.
Nearly three in 10 US voice assistant users ask their device to find neighborhood shops, restaurants and businesses, according to a Chatmeter survey.
So far, China and the US have matched each other tit-for-tat in the growing trade war. Both countries have imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods, with the US threatening an additional $200 billion and China another $60 billion on 5,207 products.
You may think nothing of a box of frozen White Castle sliders or a Taco Bell dinner kit in the grocery aisle—fast-food signature dishes that shoppers can re-create at home. Yet Chick-fil-A's announcement on Monday that it will begin testing meal kits is something different altogether.
Mobile checkout is shaping up to be a big theme in 2018, but some restaurants are implementing digital kiosks in addition to offering mobile ordering apps. It's just one more option for customers to choose from in an increasingly consumer-focused world.
As social distancing practices continue in the US, consumers are increasingly using their credit cards for restaurants and groceries. In Bankrate polling conducted by YouGov, 51% of respondents said they used a credit card for restaurant takeout in April, vs. 30% who said the same in December 2019.
Lunch and dinner subscription company MealPal started out as a service through which consumers could pick up meals from local restaurants during the work week—but, like many in the food industry, it has adjusted its operations for quarantined customers. The company now offers groceries supplied by local restaurants via MealPal Market.
The coronavirus pandemic is touching all aspects of daily life in the UK and around the world. From an industry perspective, those most affected thus far rely on movement of people, particularly travel and hospitality. Some have been able to adapt to this new reality, sustained largely by digital, but the hospitality sector is grappling with an environment where human contact of any kind is becoming increasingly limited, even when mediated by digital.
Brands have sought after millennials since the segment was identified as a demographic phenomenon reminiscent of the boomers. There’s been heavy investment in the creation of products and services that fit within an evolving consumer culture, one increasingly defined by this influential cohort. Growing independence and earning make this group the most digitally connected of all.
Consumers are embracing mobile delivery as they get comfortable with mcommerce, and quick service restaurants are seizing the opportunity.
Food delivery, common in urban areas where population is dense and car ownership is low, is expanding to the suburbs and beyond thanks to the rise of digital services connecting users to restaurants.
Are consumers eating out more frequently or are they preparing more meals at home? According to new NPD Group data, over 80% of meals were prepared and eaten at home in 2017. US consumers dined out 185 times last year, down from the 2000 peak when that figure was 216.
Doom and gloom often surrounds discussion of brick-and-mortar retail. It's hard not to see the demise of traditional stores like Sears and Toys 'R' Us as bellwethers for the industry. Many stores are closing locations but is it as dire as it seems on the surface?
As in many industries, there is a gap between consumer expectations and business execution for restaurants. Operators are often slow to adopt new technologies and those that they've implemented aren't always satisfactory. A February 2018 survey by BRP and Windstream Enterprise found that restaurant operators met consumer expectations on only two factors: mobile payments and free Wi-Fi.
Fewer people say offerings like online ordering and digital menus influence where they’re going to eat, according to a recent study from consulting firm AlixPartners.
