How COVID-19 is reshaping the future of food retailing
Food Futures Insights’ new report details how they see customer experience will change after the pandemic.
Changes to retail formats, more digital tools and localness are just some of the considerations that need to be examined by businesses, according to a new report from Food Futures Insights.
“Consumer behaviour has had to adapt fast to a new environment. Planning - for bigger, less frequent shops - and timing - to limit the time spent queueing outside and inside the store - have become more important considerations. Both will remain more important considerations than before COVID-19 - we’re expecting consumers and businesses alike to employ more technology as part of a new suite of solutions,” the report said.
Apart from stores advising customers via apps or online of the best times to visit, FFI expects to see other digital tools such as virtual queues and interactive shopping apps used more in the new shopper experience.
The report operates with the assumptions that the coronavirus will remain a focus for some time, social distancing will be “for a while”, the online interactions being developed between consumers and businesses now will have a lasting impact on future engagement; and consumers will fall back on “some of the heightened community-focused thinking inspired by the current situation.”
Citing Honest Burgers and US-based Sweetgreen as examples, FFI forecasts higher community involvement and awareness from consumers to be a legacy of the current crisis.
“Those businesses best able to capture and reflect this, whether retailers, cafés, restaurants or food & drink suppliers, will be the ones that resonate best with local shoppers,” the report explained.
Whilst affected by the pandemic, food-to-go remains an opportunity for chains despite consumers having less disposable income.
The report cited Ziferblat as an illustration of this, where the concept uses a pay-by-minute
system, which may lead to a “rethinking how people use cafe environments.”
As seen in other markets, FFI argues that foodservice operators will also have a “bigger role” in at-home experiences, citing delivery services and DIY kits as trends.
(Click HERE to view and download FFI’s The Future of Food Retailing report.)
