PROVIDENCE – Nearly three quarters of restaurant franchisees have added or expanded delivery and online ordering systems amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to TD Bank’s 2020 Restaurant Franchise Pulse Survey.
Even before the pandemic hit, delivery and online ordering had become increasingly popular options, with 86% of restaurant franchisees using them pre-COVID 19. However, since the pandemic hit, franchisee owners have become increasingly reliant on these options for sales, with delivery and online ordering now accounting for 39% of sales, compared with 20% a year ago.
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And roughly two-thirds plan to continue investing in enhanced delivery or mobile ordering in 2021, compared with the 12% who planned to scale up delivery and 25% who planned to enhance mobile ordering in last year’s survey.
The survey also highlighted other ways in which restaurant franchisees have shifted operations to adapt to pandemic-related restrictions. This included a shift among 42% of survey takers to nontraditional payment methods such as cloud-based point-of-sale systems, online payments or person-to-person apps instead of traditional card or cash payments.
Other changes that resulted from government restrictions and safety guidelines included:
- 50% limited their operating hours.
- 38% created a more limited menu.
- 38% added drive-thrus.
Whether the pandemic will lead to cuts in the number of franchise restaurant locations, or other changes to the physical spaces themselves, depends who you ask. About half of respondents said they anticipated reducing the number or size of franchise locations, while the other half had no changes planned.
The survey reflects responses from 250 restaurant franchise owners and operations nationwide. Local or region-specific data was not available.
Nancy Lavin is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
