It seems that the QSR industry is about to enter the beginning of the end of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced significant changes to the consumption behavior of QSR consumers. Many restaurants have realized this disruption and are trying to survive these difficult times.

Then, with all this obscurity, what are the changes in consumer purchasing behavior pre-COVID and post-COVID? Follow this infographic to find the answer!

Changes in QSRs Customer Purchase

One of the many visible changes is the rate of customer purchase for restaurant products before, during and after COVID-19. Study shows that dynamics will return to normal over time.

Pre-COVID: the number of purchases of restaurant products reached 39%

Q4 2020: It increased to 47% as people tend to order food online

After COVID: It is projected that the trend will return to 39%

Amount of Food Consumed in Restaurants

Pre-COVID: 40%

Q4 2020: 19%

After COVID: 35%

From the above trend, we can see that there has been a drastic decrease in the number of dine-in consumption amid pandemic. Only 35 percent of orders are expected to be consumed at restaurants post-COVID, down from 40 percent before the virus hit.

Evolution in Order Channel

In addition to the number of restaurant product purchases and amount of food consumed in restaurants, we can see that the change also lies in the way we order food in restaurants. As health becomes the main concern during pandemic and digital proliferation keeps growing, consumers tend to shift from in-restaurant to online delivery or drive-thru order.

Pre-COVID

-In-store: 51 %

-Drive thru: 26 %

-App/website: 23 %

Q4 2020

-In-store: 36 %

-Drive thru: 33 %

-App/website: 31 %

After COVID

-In-store: 46 %

-Drive thru: 27 %

-App/website: 27 %

Key Takeaway

To conclude, the Covid-19 pandemic and the development of apps technology has significantly changed consumer behavior, especially in buying and consuming restaurant food.

The changes to ordering methods and the number of dine-ins are obvious, but it is projected that the dynamics will slide to normal post-COVID. This is a bright spot for restaurant business owners.

Switch old manual processes to digital checklists such as Nimbly for better business productivity