Online Ordering Accounts for 39% of All Franchisee Sales During Pandemic

It will come as a shock to exactly no one that online ordering is up across the board for the franchise industry in 2020. Still, it’s eye-opening to see just how important digital sales have become for businesses throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

On Thursday, Nation’s Restaurant News published data from a TD Bank survey of franchisees showing that the percentage of total sales attributed to online orders has nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic, from 20% to 39%. What’s more, a whopping 72% of all franchisees surveyed have “enhanced” their delivery and digital ordering capabilities in the past seven months.

Those changes are not likely to be undone with the arrival of a vaccine. Consumer preferences had long been shifting toward digital sales, the pandemic only accelerated the transition.

"Franchises have invested a tremendous amount of time, money and creativity in delivery and mobile ordering, but not all restaurants have adapted to off-premise sales to the same degree as the QSR space," said Mark Wasilefsky, the head of the Restaurant Franchise Finance Group at TD Bank said in a statement. "We expect the shift to off-premise sales to be long lasting, and due to broad consumer acceptance of its added convenience, we believe it will likely become a permanent aspect of many franchises' business models."

The survey notes other pandemic-influence trends as well. Half of the surveyed franchisees said they changed or reduced their operating hours, 38% said they reduced their menus, and 38% said they have invested in drive-thru capabilities since March. 

Though restaurants and retail are still struggling with vastly reduced sales heading into the winter, TD Bank’s survey offers a glimmer of hope, showing clearly that consumers are still looking for ways to safely patronize shops and businesses, and franchise owners are finding solutions to serve them.

Read more at nrn.com.