Food delivery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to understand consumer behavior related to the purchase of meals by delivery services before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was conducted between September and October 2020. The total number of valid responses was 971. Findings About 55% of the participants reported a decrease in consumption or not having consumed food delivery during the pandemic. Of the total, 48.3% feared contracting COVID-19 from food delivery. A significant association was observed between fear of contracting COVID-19 from food delivery and variables such as education level (p = 0.001), observance of social distancing (p = 0.03) and food delivery consumption frequency (p < 0.001). More people were careful about cleaning food packaging (from 12.4% before to 66.1% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) and disposal (from 47.6% before to 66.4% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) and heating the food before consumption (from 7.6% before to 13.7% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) and used payment methods without approximation (from 29.8% before to 43.2% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) compared with the pre-pandemic period. More people also reported that application of security protocols during delivery (from 29.8% before to 43.2% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) and in restaurants (from 7.2% before to 25% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) and possessing knowledge about the financial difficulty of the establishment (from 4.6% before to 17% during the pandemic, p < 0.001) were the most important factors for choosing a food service. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore consumers’ fear of contracting COVID-19 from food delivery and consumer behavior related to food delivery services during the pandemic in Brazil – that is, way to order and payment methods, as well as concern and care related to the purchase of these foods.

A Thematic Review on Using Food Delivery Services during the Pandemic: Insights for the Post-COVID-19 Era

“…Some articles involved several keywords and vice versa. In addition, some studies have analyzed online comments [ 9 , 24 , 27 , 47 ] or conducted general behavioral surveys [ 41 , 45 ] to understand consumer behavior towards using food delivery services during the pandemic. Previous studies argued that the use of food delivery services may be associated with some outcome phenomena, such as sedentary lifestyles [ 62 ] or environmental pollution issues [ 63 ].…”

“…In line with most industry reports on food delivery services, Chotigo and Kadono [ 35 ] and Hong et al [ 36 ] observed an increase in the frequency of use or number of new users. However, some studies observed a decrease in use [ 15 , 41 , 45 ]. One of the possible reasons for the inconsistency is the different mechanisms of consumers’ perceived COVID-19-related risks, as mentioned previously.…”

“…Other reasons may come from differences in sample, culture, policy, etc. For example, students use fewer food delivery services when they study at home and live with their parents during the pandemic [ 45 ]; some users clean food packaging or reheat delivered food before consumption for various reasons [ 41 ]. Additionally, previous studies have shown that people aware of health risks may change their behavior in a preventive way [ 88 , 89 , 90 ].…”

“… Theme 7: social factors [ 6 , 9 , 13 , 23 , 35 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 48 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 58 , 61 ]. …”

“… Observed behavioral characteristics or changes [ 9 , 15 , 28 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 41 , 45 , 48 , 60 ]. …”