COVID-19 fightback: Restaurant sector confidence rising
Confidence among the nation’s restaurant owners has taken a leap amid ongoing COVID-19 uncertainty, Deliveroo says.
Australians are going to have to “live” with sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks and ongoing uncertainty, but rising confidence among restaurant owners signals a strong fightback, says
Deliveroo Australia boss Ed McManus.
Latest research commissioned by the food delivery giant, which partners with 14,000 restaurants nationwide and supports 8000 on-demand jobs, shows restaurant sector confidence soared from a tempered +9 in August 2020 to +42.
“That’s a huge leap in just six months and is indicative of the V-shaped economic recovery we are all pleasantly surprised by,” Mr McManus said.
“It’s a big swing in positive sentiment for a sector that was decimated due to lockdowns and restrictions.
“And while a thriving restaurant sector is good for our business (Deliveroo), it’s also important for the positive social and mental health of our communities.”
More than half the restaurant owners surveyed (55 per cent) said they felt positive about their business prospects today, and only 13 per cent have a negative outlook, the online survey of 300-plus restaurants by YouGov found.
Workforce planning was a clear target with 81 per cent planning to hire more staff.
Smaller operators remained fearful, with only one third (33 per cent) confident of expansion or further investment.
Challenges identified be more than half the respondents included the state of the economy, produce prices and low consumer spending.
The pandemic had also cementing delivery as a revenue stream for restaurants.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of the respondents said delivery had increased by an average of one third (34 per cent) as a proportion of their business last year, while 13 per cent said it had decreased.
This number is highest in Victoria (55 per cent of restaurants saw delivery increase by an average of 40 per cent) in comparison to the other states.
The online survey was conducted between October 27 and November 25. The final sample for the survey included 317 Deliveroo restaurant partners – 123 were from NSW, 111 from Victoria, 50 from Queensland and 33 from other states and territories.
Deliveroo has operated in Australia for seven years and Mr McManus said the business was considering new on-demand options as the pandemic reshapes a number of areas of the economy.
“We have seen the strong push to urgent online demand and we also trialled delivery of (over the counter) drugs to patients in certain states.
“Our focus in 2021 will be to increase the scope of that delivery model where customers wait on 20-30 minute delivery time-frames.”
Deliveroo Australia is a subsidiary of UK business Deliveroo, founded by Will Shu in 2013.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is a 16 per cent stakeholder in Deliveroo, which is gearing up for its public debut on the London Stock Exchange this year with a potential value of over £5bn $8.8bn).
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