Samika Mallick

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Digitalization and Food Delivery

Started Dec. 13, 2022

Abstract or project description

Consumer spending was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in numerous industries due to the increase in physical restrictions and growing caution around the virus. The food service industry faced immediate and harsh changes, with great reductions in consumer spending when lockdown began. Given the universal impacts of the pandemic, it is crucial to understand how such businesses recovered and the ways the pandemic's effects can still be see years later. By studying the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer spending in the food industry specifically, I find that the initial lockdown restrictions hindered consumers' ability to physically go to restaurants, causing a rapid increase in the use of food delivery services during the pandemic. This increased reliance on digital services is a reflection of the broader shift from traditional physical structures to digital structures through many industries, and this increased reliance on delivery services followed consumers even after lockdown restrictions were lifted; however, through data analysis, I find that the rate of usage growth is now, as of May 20203, starting to decline due to possible financial constraints and individual reservations concerning delivery services.