Deliveries, home kits, and reopening restaurants
Is it still worth investing in your ‘at home dining experience’ now we have our ‘reopening roadmap’ from Boris? Yes. 100% yes.
If you took time to get your delivery system sorted or your home kit shopping site live, you’ll know it’s best not to wait around for these ideas to pass you by.
And if you were quick on the draw with building these infrastructures, you’ll likely be familiar with the valuable learnings and experiences pursuing such changes can bring.
We’re all hopeful that the world of hospitality will have largely returned to ‘normal’ — whatever that means anymore! — by June 21st. Who’s with me in taking a training course on how to go back to nightclubs in your 30s?
But there’s still that lingering fear that it won’t feel like the ‘good ol’ days’. Here are a few ways you can ensure your business is prepared for the uncertainties of ‘The After’:
Deliveries aren’t going anywhere
Food delivery app revenue increased from £3.5 billion in 2019 to £4.3 billion in 2020. Still, nobody’s winning. But every restaurant should have a reliable delivery infrastructure by now.
If deliveries aren’t making you enough money due to the high commission rates, think about how you can decentralize away from the likes of Uber Eats and Deliveroo, running your delivery systems in-house instead.
A change in habits
Though there’ll inevitably be an initial tidal wave of dining out when venues reopen, more people than ever have learned to love having friends around to cook, host BBQs, and order deliveries.
Lockdown life has also ushered in a whole new level of experiential retail, with online classes and digital experience for every interest and hobby. This isn’t just a bridge over troubled waters — it’s an acceleration of something that was already being built. AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) will no doubt nurture these ideas as a prominent part of the future of home entertainment.
Plus, if vaccine passports — proof that you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 — do become a thing, there’ll be many people waiting in the wings. Your brand and your products could be the experiences that makes that wait less painful.