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New Normal พฤติกรรมผู้บริโภค ที่เปลี่ยนไป ร้านอาหารต้องปรับตัวให้ทัน

New Normal: Consumer behavior has changed, restaurants must adapt quickly

Kasikorn Research Center has published an analysis of the restaurant business's adaptation to new standards after the COVID-19 situation, predicting that: Throughout 2020, the restaurant business will shrink for the first time in 8 years. The value is only 385-389 billion baht, or a contraction of 9.7%-10.6% from last year, under the assumption that there will be no new outbreaks in the rest of this year. In addition, with the business environment changing to the New Normal era This will be another factor that will make all types of restaurant operators need to quickly adapt. In order to be able to conduct business in line with these changing consumer demands, what do people in the restaurant business need to adapt to? Let's follow along.
1. The number of service users and the average per capita decreased due to slowing purchasing power.
 The global COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the global economy as well as the domestic economy, which was already not doing so well before the pandemic. Consumer purchasing power began to decline. When faced with the COVID crisis, the domestic economic situation worsened. Many people lost their jobs and incomes decreased. This will definitely have an impact on restaurants. The possibility of customers using the service per visit is likely to decrease, as well as the average per capita that has decreased due to consumer purchasing power.
Which sees that the restaurant groups that are most likely to be affected are: Group of stores with a middle-class customer base For example, restaurants in shopping malls that are not chain restaurants, buffet restaurants, food gardens, pubs and bars, and restaurants in tourist areas are groups that are likely to be directly affected. Because this group of restaurants has relatively high operating costs While roadside restaurants, food carts, and small shops are less affected or are positively affected because they benefit from middle-class customers. This can be seen from the past lockdown situation. The shops that have better sales are roadside restaurants, shops in village alleys, and food carts because the prices of these shops meet the purchasing power at this time. For coping strategies : It is predicted that the economic situation will continue to be a problem throughout this year and may extend into next year. Therefore, maintaining cash flow as much as possible is important. Focus on managing costs at every point, especially food costs, raw material stock management, and labor costs. Learn through free online courses here. Click.
Section on increasing sales Increasing the average per head is another thing that needs to be done. A recommended approach is to create a new menu with a new cost structure so that the selling price can be lowered but still look good and expensive. Create a set menu with great value so that customers can come to use the service often. As for promotions for discounts, exchanges, freebies, and extras for general shops, this period may need to be considered carefully because doing such promotions may not be suitable during a time when the business owner is having cash flow problems and may lose money. If you want to do it, it would be better to make it a promotion for take-away because the shop has limited seating. Lean (LEAN) Everything to save costs Small things that are often overlooked, such as turning on-off the lights, turning on-off the air conditioner, if the business owner pays more attention, it will help save a lot of costs. There should be regulations for employees to follow, such as when to turn on the air conditioner, which air conditioner to turn off during the time when there are no customers, and how many minutes before closing the shop to turn off the air conditioner. Electricity, water, and other parts are the same.
In summary, From now until the end of the year or maybe even next year, it will be a period of declining overall purchasing power. Therefore, business operators must give priority to internal management. Evaluate daily sales to analyze the data and plan marketing. In terms of cost management, menus that do not sell well and have high costs may have to be hidden for a while. Reduce the number of menus if the existing menu has too many options. Because the more menus, the more raw material costs have to be paid. Launch new menus to generate sales in the meantime.
2. Store income may not be the same, but expenses and costs have increased.
 Although restaurants have resumed dine-in service , the government's various measures and regulations have inevitably affected revenue. For example, social distancing measures have caused half of the number of seats to be lost, which has an impact on revenue, but the cost of expenses is the opposite: rental costs, raw material costs, and labor costs. Especially for shops like pubs and bars that are currently unable to open, or even if they can open, customers may not return to use the service as before. Or general restaurants, from now on, consumers may become accustomed to sitting and eating alone, which reduces the opportunity to increase sales even more.
Therefore, when the physical store channels are likely not to return to being as crowded as before Entrepreneurs also need to add new sales channels or new sales formats. For example, now there are brands of stores in shopping malls adjusting their business plans to expand outside of shopping malls, reducing the size of stores to be more flexible, including target customer communities and focusing more on sales through delivery channels. It can be seen from the past 2-3 months that the delivery market has grown exponentially. Even food categories that were not previously suitable for delivery, such as buffets and shabu, have had to adapt and come up with new sales formats specifically for delivery. From now on , restaurants can no longer rely solely on in-store sales. With various measures that people must follow or still not being confident about the epidemic situation, consumers have become accustomed to staying at home and ordering food to eat. Therefore, the delivery market is one of the main sources of income for restaurants from now on.
3. Fierce delivery, both competition and GP value
 Of course, when the delivery market grows and consumers use the service more, the competition will naturally be higher because every store can enter this market and the main delivery platforms are none other than a few big players that consumers know well. The advantages of joining these big platforms are: These platforms are constantly marketing and promoting to build their user base. Which is comparable to the traffic entering the mall and the famous platforms still have a ready management system and have riders to service, but restaurants also have to exchange for a high sales share or GP. But when these platforms are good locations, the sales opportunities also increase. The recommendation is that restaurants should join the platform or delivery app with the advantages mentioned, but must make new food prices to support the GP deduction. Read how to calculate the cost structure of food under GP delivery here. Click And should consider doing your own delivery to deliver within a radius of no more than 10 kilometers, do marketing with special promotions for customers who order through the store's delivery to attract customers to this channel, use Facebook to shoot ads within a radius of 5-10 kilometers, insert promotional flyers sent directly through the store with the food that customers order through the app, or join various alternative platforms to increase opportunities for sales channels. But if sales through the app are high and continuous, you should consider doing marketing with the app so that your store is searched or always in the app's recommended store position.
4. Technology will not be just an option. But it will help your business go further.
 From now on Technology will play an important role for restaurant owners. Whether it is the queue system, the advance food ordering system, and especially the payment channels, the use of cash tends to decrease. Therefore, it is something that entrepreneurs must study. And look for these technologies to use to support changing consumer behavior. No need to say much. Nowadays, when transferring money to buy something, if someone sends a picture of their account number, they almost don't want to transfer because it takes time to type. But if it's a QR Code, the transfer is instant.
5. Hygiene is a high-cost investment that requires investment. Hygiene is another area that needs investment.
Even though it is a high cost, it must be accepted. Because from now on , hygiene will be one of the factors in customers' decision to use the service. Hygiene in the store From the storefront, how should it be managed to make customers feel safe? What measures should be taken inside the store? How should various containers be managed? For example, alcohol gel should be placed at various points, temperature should be checked, disinfectant should be sprayed at regular intervals, containers, spoons, plates, and bowls should be tightly wrapped, tables and chairs should be wiped clean after each customer has used the service, and cleanliness should be maintained at various points. The practices of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) or public health agencies can be used as standard criteria. Personnel and staff hygiene This is a part that needs to be given a lot of importance as well. It will probably have to be added as a new standard rule for the shop from now on. How must the employees behave when in the shop, during breaks, while serving customers, what personal equipment must be provided, and the cleanliness of the body, clothes, face, and hair must be taken care of in every part.
Hygiene of raw materials, equipment and cooking Equally important, the restaurant must have a good raw material management system, have reliable cleaning procedures, clean and disinfect all equipment, the cooking process must be clean, the cook must be protected from saliva and hair falling into the food, wear gloves, use equipment to pick up ingredients instead of using hands, etc.
6. New customer groups and new opportunities
 During the recent lockdown, amateur chefs have emerged in almost every home. Cooking has become an activity that many people enjoy without realizing it. They see it as an opportunity. This is another new customer group. The restaurant can create a set of the restaurant's signature menu for this group of customers to purchase. Cooking is also a Meal Kit product. Including other menus can create income opportunities back, making customers feel like trying it and may also make customers want to try the real thing at the shop. People's behavior has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, creating many new things that have become the New Normal, regardless of whether that behavior will last long or not. As a business person, it is necessary to learn to adapt to the changing needs of consumers so that the business can continuously grow and make a profit. Click here to read other articles.
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