COVID-19 Outbreak & Its Impact on On-Demand Delivery Business
COVID-19 has jolted our lives in the past 6 months. The nations, across the world, are struggling to flatten the curve of coronavirus and start the journey of recovery and reinvention to boost their economy.
According to the reports from the IMF, the global economy is expected to see a steep cut of 3% in the current year, which is the biggest one after the 1930s!
Coronavirus is not just a health and humanitarian crisis, but it is proven to be a death-toll for different industries all over the world. Be it retail, automobile, real estate, travel, and tourism, or manufacturing, no industry has managed to escape the disruption of COVID-19.
While crisis flattens, the leaders from different industries are resetting for what is going to come ahead. And the on-demand delivery industry is not the exception in it. As per the reports from Zomato, the leading on-demand food delivery services provider, COVID-19 has affected the size of the business, but it has accelerated its profitability. The company has claimed that it will manage to recover its losses in the next three to six months. On the other hand, there is a great rise in the demand for on-demand maid service software observed during the crisis.
Why On-Demand industry is the least affected as compared to other industries?
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The adoption of a NEW NORMAL where people or consumers are willing to keep SOCIAL DISTANCE. |
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The option of getting necessary items delivered without stepping out of homes. |
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Variety of options available to cater to different needs and budgets of the consumers. |
Understanding how the coronavirus outbreak has affected the on-demand delivery businesses
Many on-demand delivery businesses, such as on-demand food delivery services or on-demand maid services, have observed a quick recovery and increased demand thanks to the coronavirus outbreak. Since the governments have prohibited restaurants to open their doors for dine-in, the food delivery business sees bright days ahead in a couple of months.
Impact on consumer behavior
The coronavirus outbreak has forced on-demand delivery service providers to reevaluate how to deliver customer experience during the crisis and beyond. Food delivery volumes have seen a great downfall of roughly 60% in the past couple of months since people are afraid to order due to the pandemic situation.
The crisis has changed how and what consumers expect from on-demand food delivery services. People are doubtful to place orders for their favorite food. According to the recent survey from the Economic Times, there is very less demand for food and delivery requests, which has caused a drop of almost 50% in the prices.
This change in consumer behavior has encouraged the leading on-demand service providers to expand their existing offerings and invest in the new line of services like on-demand maid software applications.
Impact on Workforce/Employees
The core food delivery business has heavily impacted and will see a deep cut for the next couple of months, but it will start getting up quickly considering the existing trend. However, on-demand delivery businesses across the globe are experiencing a challenge to sustain the workforce.
Recently, Swiggy, a leading food delivery app company in India, has announced to cut-down 1100 jobs across the country. On the other hand, Zomato has declared 13% lay off in its workforce. The steps are taken to reduce indirect costs incurred to manage the workforce.
Impact on Operations
With the change of consumer behavior, supply chain, and ways of marketing the on-demand delivery services, organizations are forced to reset the way of working and adopt the agile methodology to sustain in the market. Right from introducing zero contact delivery, hygiene habits, and minimal workforce to carry out the day-to-day operations, the on-demand delivery business will have to develop rapid response to address existing disruption.
Impact on Finance
While leading food delivery brands have decided to hold on money flow by reducing the workforce or limiting the operations, many new entrepreneurs decided to take some actions to address short-term liquidity problems and invested in new opportunities like on-demand maid software. On contrary, many leading on-demand food delivery brands like UberEats, WMT grocery, and other on-demand services have witnessed a sudden rise in the number of orders, which has boosted their revenue in FY’20.
Bottomline…
Believe it or not, the on-demand delivery landscape has changed. Amidst this uncertainty, on-demand food delivery services providers must connect with changing customer habits to sustain in this crisis. Of course, the lockdown might be easing in the next couple of months, customers will be still in dilemma to venturing out and relax. The pandemic is proven to be a nightmare across the globe, and it has become imperative for the on-demand business to begin their journey of recovery, reinvention, and RESTART with a positivity!
Want to know how to fight back the coronavirus crisis and run your on-demand delivery business? Get in touch with our experts to know how we can help you out!
