Supply Chain Responsiveness to a (Post)-Pandemic Grocery and Food Service E-Commerce Economy: An Exploratory Canadian Case Study

Abstract

The focus of this study looks at the motivations and rationale from a national survey of over 7200 Canadians in November 2020 into why they use online services to purchase food. As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains have been significantly altered. Consumers are purchasing foods with different dynamics, including when they buy in-person at groceries, at restaurants or at food service establishments. Elements of the food supply chain will be permanently altered post-pandemic. The study looks at a specific set of factors, captured in the survey, namely, consumer price sensitivity to the costs of online food purchasing, growing sustainability-related concerns over food packaging and waste, and product sensory experience related to how online purchasing changes from in-person food selection. The end goal, emerging from a case study, is insight into the strategies and preparedness with which CPGs, food services, and retailers can better manage the supply chain in their food product offerings in the post-pandemic era.

Fish, Seafood, and Fish Products Purchasing Habits in the Spanish Population during COVID-19 Lockdown

“…In this respect, a study of more than 1900 Chinese adult residents revealed that people preferred in-person to online shopping, although more than half of the studied population did at least one online or delivery order during the lockdown [ 15 ]. Moreover, in a large Canadian study, around 60% of the population used online retailing during the year 2020, either to do groceries or to buy from restaurants [ 16 ]. However, in an Italian study, only 9% of the population used online delivery during the pandemic [ 11 ].…”

Food Accessibility in the Suburbs of the Metropolitan City of Antwerp (Belgium): A Factor of Concern in Local Public Health and Active and Healthy Aging

“…The recent case of Gorillas, an on-demand grocery delivery service that seized operations in Antwerp and Brussels after just one year, indicates there is currently still little room for disruption in the Flemish market. On the other hand, non-exclusive grocery retailers such as Amazon might be able to compete on prices through cross-subsidization with other product/service categories [ 71 ]. While they may have the financial backing to penetrate a closed market, their presence in the European groceries market is still marginal and completely non-existent in Flanders.…”

In-person, pick up or delivery? Evolving patterns of household spending behavior through the early reopening phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The changes include numerous new spending behaviors like panic buying and stockpiling at grocery stores as news about the severity of the COVID-19 virus started to surface ( Ben Hassen et al, 2021 , Islam et al, 2021 ; Sheth, 2020). New behaviors have emerged within product types, with a shift towards e-commerce and new channels of delivery, such as curbside pickup ( Charlebois et al, 2021 , Mohamad et al, 2020 , Unnikrishnan and Figliozzi, 2021 ). Finally, during the evolving pandemic there has been a shift from in-person spending towards remote engagement, both within spending categories (from dining-in to take-out) as well as across spending categories (less money spent on restaurants and commuting coupled with a shift towards more spending on improving homes and investing in home-offices) ( Ben Hassen et al, 2020 ; Chaudhary, 2020; Hong et al, 2021 , Sherman and Huth, 2020 ).…”