Today's English "Experts certain online food delivery trend is here to stay"

Experts certain online food delivery trend is here to stay.

The online food delivery market has seen robust growth since the COVID-19 outbreak began, and this is likely to continue through this year given Vietnamese consumers’ cautiousness, Peter Christou, commercial director of Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam, has said.

There was the rapid adoption of online food delivery by consumers, food and beverage businesses, and delivery services, and Christou noted that early signs indicate this habit would stick since the spending remained consistent even when restrictions were eased and out-of-home spending recovered as restaurants reopened.

Food and beverage outlets in HCM City have switched to takeaway and delivery services during the two-week social distancing that began on Monday last week.

Coffee chains such as The Coffee House, Trung Nguyên, and Cheese Coffee, and fast food chains Lotteria and KFC have their online ordering app now and also use food delivery partners like Grab, Now, and Baemin.

Trương Hàm Liêm, marketing director of Lotteria Việt Nam, said online sales have doubled during social distancing, and account for 40 percent of total revenues, with the remaining being through delivery partners and from takeaways.

There has been a reduction in the number of online orders, but the value of each order has increased as customers now tend to order in groups, he said.

Hoàng Văn Lộc, the owner of a milk tea shop in Bình Tân District, told Việt Nam News: “Our revenue has fallen by 50 percent these days, so we have to offer discounts and find new customers by promoting sales on social networks to keep the business going.”

Many restaurants are also tying up with ordering platforms.

Nguyễn Hạnh, the owner of an eatery in District 10, said: “We have been selling our products on Now and GrabFood for nearly two years, and they have increased our number of orders sharply. We used to have our delivery service but only for orders over VNĐ200,000 (US$8.71) within five kilometers.

“Now, with these platforms, customers from anywhere in the city can have a taste of our noodles, costing around VNĐ50,000 ($2.18) a bowl, delivered to them at a reasonable fee.