Dubai restaurateurs have learnt how to make money delivering their food, a service new for some and for others more familiar as a marketing tool than a profitable sideline.
Event Location
Dubai , Dubai
Start Time
24 May 2020, 12:00 AM
End Time
31 May 2020, 12:00 AM
Dubai restaurateurs are having to adapt fast by learning how to make money delivering their food as many customers now perceive home cooking as a safer option and may well continue doing so.
“It will be quite a while before people have the confidence to go out into a dine-in environment on a mass scale,” said Duncan Fraser-Smith of Cutting Edge Hospitality consultancy.
Around half of UAE food and beverage units have temporarily closed, industry consultancy JLL estimates, and a survey it compiled makes for sobering reading.
This shows UAE food delivery revenues fell as coronavirus restrictions increased, including a month-long 24-hour lockdown in Dubai that began mid-March. They fell 19 percentage year-on-year in March and 7percentage in February.
Dubai-focused campaign group The Middle East Restaurant Association has asked the government for long-term industry support, and called for delivery aggregators such as Deliveroo and Zomato to reduce commission fees.
Meanwhile Chatfood, a platform that enables direct customer orders without commission, has seen a rise in subscribers new to delivery, including from high-end restaurants, co-founder Ben Mouflard said.
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