IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i9p4893-d797052.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Canadian Consumers’ Dining Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Channel Decisions in the Foodservice Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Gumataw Kifle Abebe

    (Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada)

  • Sylvain Charlebois

    (Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada)

  • Janet Music

    (Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada)

Abstract

The past two years have been challenging for the restaurant industry in Canada and countries worldwide. This has led many casual and fine dining restaurants to adapt their business models to overcome the immediate and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims to understand how COVID-19 has impacted Canadian consumers’ on- and off-premise dining behaviors and how such behaviors vary among various sociodemographic groups, general knowledge of COVID-19, and telecommuting. Data were collected from a nationally representative consumer panel ( n = 1091), from a survey administered online by Angus Reid. The results show that Canadian consumers increased their off-premise dining experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, which also varied across various sociodemographic groups. There was also an increased level of telecommuting during the pandemic, of which 68% started following the pandemic. However, telecommuting was negatively correlated with off-premise dining experiences during the pandemic. Canadian consumers perceived off-premise dining during the pandemic as reasonably expensive, lesser quality, and more convenient. The findings may have important implications for casual and dining restaurants in Canada to improve channel decisions and messaging as operators prepare for a full-service post-COVID-19. They can build on the infrastructure and capability that has been established during the COVID-19 pandemic to offer sustainable services beyond the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Gumataw Kifle Abebe & Sylvain Charlebois & Janet Music, 2022. "Canadian Consumers’ Dining Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Channel Decisions in the Foodservice Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:4893-:d:797052
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/4893/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/4893/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Timothy J. Richards & Bradley Rickard, 2020. "COVID‐19 impact on fruit and vegetable markets," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 68(2), pages 189-194, June.
    2. Lisa Mullins & Sylvain Charlebois & Erica Finch & Janet Music, 2021. "Home Food Gardening in Canada in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, March.
    3. Sheth, Jagdish, 2020. "Impact of Covid-19 on consumer behavior: Will the old habits return or die?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 280-283.
    4. Borkowski, Przemysław & Jażdżewska-Gutta, Magdalena & Szmelter-Jarosz, Agnieszka, 2021. "Lockdowned: Everyday mobility changes in response to COVID-19," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    5. Kevin Z. Chen & Rui Mao, 2020. "Fire lines as fault lines: increased trade barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic further shatter the global food system," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 735-738, August.
    6. Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie & Phebe Asantewaa Owusu, 2021. "Global assessment of environment, health and economic impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 5005-5015, April.
    7. Matthias Breier & Andreas Kallmuenzer & Thomas Clauss & Johanna Gast & Sascha Kraus & Victor Tiberius, 2021. "The role of business model innovation in the hospitality industry during the COVID-19 crisis," Post-Print hal-03514806, HAL.
    8. Nayak, Suchismita & Pandit, Debapratim, 2021. "Potential of telecommuting for different employees in the Indian context beyond COVID-19 lockdown," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 98-110.
    9. Sube Singh & Ramesh Kumar & Rohit Panchal & Manoj Kumar Tiwari, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on logistics systems and disruptions in food supply chain," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(7), pages 1993-2008, April.
    10. Truong, Dothang & Truong, My D., 2022. "How do customers change their purchasing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    11. Pantano, Eleonora & Pizzi, Gabriele & Scarpi, Daniele & Dennis, Charles, 2020. "Competing during a pandemic? Retailers’ ups and downs during the COVID-19 outbreak," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 209-213.
    12. Ellen Goddard, 2020. "The impact of COVID‐19 on food retail and food service in Canada: Preliminary assessment," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 68(2), pages 157-161, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Voytenkov, Valentin & Demidova, Olga, 2023. "Impact of COVID-19 on household consumption in Russia," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 72, pages 73-99.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yanfei Pan & Marian Rizov, 2022. "Consumer Behaviour in Sourcing Meals during COVID-19: Implications for Business and Marketing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Bożena Kusz & Lucyna Witek & Dariusz Kusz & Katarzyna Chudy-Laskowska & Paulina Ostyńska & Alina Walenia, 2023. "The Effect of COVID-19 on Food Consumers’ Channel Purchasing Behaviors: An Empirical Study from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-17, March.
    3. Zielke, Stephan & Komor, Marcin & Schlößer, Andrea, 2023. "Coping strategies and intended change of shopping habits after the Corona pandemic – Insights from two countries in Western and Eastern Europe," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Ola Bareja-Wawryszuk & Tomasz Pajewski & Kübra Müge Çakaröz & Baki Kavas, 2022. "Changes in Consumer Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis between Polish and Turkish Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-11, August.
    5. Sigitas Urbonavicius & Karina Adomaviciute – Sakalauske, 2023. "Learning from Pandemic Periods: Elements of the Theory of Behavioral Transformation," Tržište/Market, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, vol. 35(2), pages 251-266.
    6. Ashutosh Sarkar & Debadyuti Das & Arindam Debroy, 2024. "Panic Buying, Product Substitution and Channel-Shifting Behaviour During Pandemic," IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, , vol. 13(1), pages 25-43, January.
    7. Stanca, Liana & Dabija, Dan-Cristian & Câmpian, Veronica, 2023. "Qualitative analysis of customer behavior in the retail industry during the COVID-19 pandemic: A word-cloud and sentiment analysis approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Melissa Maas & Gumataw Kifle Abebe & Christopher M. Hartt & Emmanuel K. Yiridoe, 2022. "Consumer Perceptions about the Value of Short Food Supply Chains during COVID-19: Atlantic Canada Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, July.
    9. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    10. Peluso, Alessandro M. & Pichierri, Marco & Pino, Giovanni, 2021. "Age-related effects on environmentally sustainable purchases at the time of COVID-19: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    11. Md. Sekender Ali & Md. Saeed Siddik & Sk. Md. Nur-E-Alam & Tayeba Khanam & Most Moriom Khatun, 2020. "Analysis of the Problems and Minimization Initiatives Addressed by Bangladeshi Farmers During the Covid-19 Pandemic," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(4), pages 773-781, December.
    12. Pantano, Eleonora & Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios & Devereux, Luke & Pizzi, Gabriele, 2021. "Tweets to escape: Intercultural differences in consumer expectations and risk behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown in three European countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 59-69.
    13. Jiang, Yangyang & Stylos, Nikolaos, 2021. "Triggers of consumers’ enhanced digital engagement and the role of digital technologies in transforming the retail ecosystem during COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    14. Weersink, Alfons & von Massow, Mike & Bannon, Nicholas & Ifft, Jennifer & Maples, Josh & McEwan, Ken & McKendree, Melissa G.S. & Nicholson, Charles & Novakovic, Andrew & Rangarajan, Anusuya & Richards, 2021. "COVID-19 and the agri-food system in the United States and Canada," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    15. Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo & Mariantonietta Fiore & Antonino Galati, 2020. "How the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Changing Online Food Shopping Human Behaviour in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-18, November.
    16. Mukesh Kumar & Rakesh D. Raut & Mahak Sharma & Vikas Kumar Choubey & Sanjoy Kumar Paul, 2022. "Enablers for resilience and pandemic preparedness in food supply chain," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 1198-1223, December.
    17. Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois & Louise Spiteri & Shannon Farrell & Alysha Griffin, 2021. "Increases in Household Food Waste in Canada as a Result of COVID-19: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-11, November.
    18. Morimura, Fumikazu & Sakagawa, Yuji, 2023. "The intermediating role of big data analytics capability between responsive and proactive market orientations and firm performance in the retail industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    19. Eleonora Annunziata & Tommaso Pucci & Jacopo Cammeo & Lorenzo Zanni & Marco Frey, 2023. "The mediating role of exogenous shocks in green purchase intention: evidence from italian fashion industry in the Covid-19 era," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(1), pages 59-79, March.
    20. Eleonora Maria & Michele Simoni & Giuseppe Pedeliento & Marco Galvagno, 2021. "The long Covid effect in marketing and consumer research," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2021(4), pages 297-303, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:4893-:d:797052. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.