Contactless delivery – A new norm in the food industry

In the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, words like “contactless” and “social distancing” have gained significant traction. Doorstep food delivery has earned pace and how a company interacts with its customers has also transformed dramatically. So, in a nutshell, times like these have acted as a catalyst for the development of an on-demand food delivery app to deliver safe and hygienic food at your doorstep without any direct human-to-human interaction.

In this blog, we shall address questions like what contact-free food delivery is and its significance, the food industries embracing this new trend, the current market stats, the benefits, and lastly, the steps that you must take to ensure an easy flow with contactless delivery.

What is Contactless Food Delivery and Why is it Critical Given the Current Scenario?

The act of safely delivering food to its final destination with limited or no contact between the person delivering the food and the end consumer is called contactless food delivery.

Amidst the global pandemic, contactless delivery has become a necessity. The idea behind this is, however, not new since various food aggregators and platforms like Dominos are already using this mode of delivery to reach their target end consumer. Anyone who has had the chance of using an on-demand food delivery app like Postmates, Doordash, GrubHub, or Uber Eats in recent months pretty much knows how contact-free delivery functions.

Many companies are now realizing that the need for contactless delivery has grown considerably in the years 2020 and 2021. Despite restrictions being eased these days, customers are now in favor of using a food delivery app rather than dine-in services to avoid any direct interaction. Hence, these on-demand apps are playing a vital role in the survival of many restaurants as the emphasis is being laid on order takeout and delivery.

Food Industries Embracing Contactless Delivery

Contactless delivery has been gaining popularity with companies looking to adapt to the new tides of the near future. Through the use of technology in the on-demand food delivery app business, going contactless can be made possible.

Below are some of the food delivery app companies that have opted for the contactless delivery option to protect their employees and customers by minimizing physical contact.

• Postmates is the very first food delivery company to announce contactless delivery, via their company blog. When the customer places an order on their application, at checkout under the “Dropoff Options” menu they can select one of the following:
  • Deliver to my door
  • Meet me outside
  • Leave order at my door
• DoorDash is also promoting the contactless option by encouraging their users to add directives using an existing field in their application. At checkout, under “Delivery Instructions,” the customer can write a note or even share a picture of the spot they’d like their food to be left at. So, the rider relies on the customer’s instructions to safely deliver the food to its final location.
• Grubhub is also encouraging the customers to provide personalized “Delivery Instructions.” The users are being asked to directly call the drivers and discuss their delivery arrangements to avoid confusion at both ends.

The Future of Contactless Delivery in 2021 – The Stats

To stay on top of the game, building an on-demand food delivery app should be the right way to go as it provides more digital options and technology-based choices. The way the modern customer thinks is changing now as choices are becoming more important than costs. If food companies fail to take digital food ordering stats seriously then this might significantly affect their income as they will end up losing customers.

The way the modern customer thinks is changing now as choices are becoming more important than costs. If food companies fail to take digital food ordering stats seriously then this might significantly affect their income as they will end up losing customers.

Technology is going to play a huge part in the future of contactless delivery. From online ordering to drone delivery to cloud kitchen – everything is going through a roller coaster of ever-changing people’s preferences. The main question here is whether contactless delivery will continue in 2021 or not? The answer is YES.

Here are some facts to prove it:

• Indoor restaurant sales have declined by 36.5%, with social distancing becoming the new norm.
• Online food delivery sales have skyrocketed with Instacart experiencing an additional 8.32 million dollars, at the pandemic outbreak from February to March in the year 2020.
• 8% of American citizens have at least one meal kit delivery subscription.
• Around 32% of consumers are leaving their premises less often.
• Amazon has hired 100,000 new delivery workers to cater to the increased online food delivery orders.
• 68% of the new digital grocery shoppers claimed that they will continue to shop online.
• 8.7% of people are picking up food from restaurants rather than dining in.

Best Practices to Ensure an Easy Flow with Contactless Delivery

For the survival of the restaurants amidst the pandemic, they must invest in the contactless delivery option. Here is a list of some basic practices that restaurants should follow to ensure the efficiency of the no-contact delivery system:

• The customers should be provided with the freedom of choice. You must make sure that contactless food delivery is made available and utilized by the users of your application.
• Communication is a must for contact-free delivery. The customers should be provided with all updates and features via their mobile phones or emails. You must ensure consistency when it comes to communicating with your target end-user.
• The consumer should be provided with the ease of contactless transactions via different payment methods. Restaurants are encouraged to incorporate multiple payment methods in their applications and websites so a variety of options are available for their users.
• Your restaurant must adhere to the policies set forth by the government to maintain clean and hygienic safety conditions. Frequent use of sanitizers and wearing masks should be thoroughly implemented all around the premises.
• Restaurants are encouraging contact-free delivery systems. Safety practices from stock management to preparing, cooking, packaging, and delivering right at your front doors are what restaurants need to invest in to boost these measures.

The Benefits of Contactless Delivery

The pandemic has altered our norms for good. The contactless delivery model is here to stay and enterprises who have not implemented this new practice are already late in the game. Executing the contactless delivery business model may be expensive during the initial stages. It will, however, help businesses thrive and grow during the hard times.

Some of the benefits of contactless delivery are:

Rapid Service

With fewer workers to cover each shift, contactless technology can help speed up placing orders and making online payments. This means that with improved customer service, you can help serve your audience at a faster pace.

Healthier Environment

Due to less person-to-person interaction, the risk of the disease spreading is also significantly reduced. Social distancing and other healthy measures can also be maintained.

Enhanced Hospitality

The less interaction between co-workers means that the only communication that will take place will be purposeful and beneficial. There will be more room for appreciation when the employees get to discuss anything regarding their food preparations. This will in return also help the workers to focus more on preparing healthy and tasty meals for their customers.

Final Words

The onset of the Corona pandemic has transformed the restaurant industry in all spheres. People are investing in boosting safety practices to keep both their customers and staff safe since the pandemic is far from over right now. With the potential for more outbreaks to occur soon, restaurants need to adapt their business models to this new reality.

If we look at the bigger picture, we will realize that contactless technology is the future of restaurants. In these times people need to know that they can eat or order takeout without the fear of contracting the virus. It is hence safe to say that restaurants should focus on building their businesses around this technology to enjoy their profits and provide fast, safe, and simple ways of satisfying their customers.

To begin your journey with contact-free delivery, get in touch and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.