The shift to restaurant delivery inspired by COVID-19 is unlikely to stick for most consumers

Stephen Whiteside

Only a small group of consumers is likely to register a long-term shift in their usage of restaurant delivery platforms in the “new normal” following COVID-19, according to a working paper from the Marketing Science Institute (MSI).

This article is part of the March 2022 WARC Spotlight US series, “For QSR brands, a menu of disruption, digital, and dazzle”. Read more

The shift towards restaurant delivery encouraged by the COVID-19 pandemic is unlikely to yield lasting behavioral change among most consumers – with the possible exception of a smaller audience who were using these services before the health crisis took hold in the US.

That was the headline finding from a working paper, entitled “Persistence of Consumer Lifestyle Choices: Evidence from Restaurant Delivery,” written by E. Shin Oblander (Columbia University) and Daniel Minh McCarthy...

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