Supply Chain Responsiveness to a (Post)-Pandemic Grocery and Food Service E-Commerce Economy: An Exploratory Canadian Case Study
Sylvain Charlebois, Mark Juhasz, Janet Music
Abstract
The focus of this study looks at the motivations and rationale from a national survey of over 7200 Canadians in November 2020 into why they use online services to purchase food. As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains have been significantly altered. Consumers are purchasing foods with different dynamics, including when they buy in-person at groceries, at restaurants or at food service establishments. Elements of the food supply chain will be permanently altered post-pandemic. The study looks at a specific set of factors, captured in the survey, namely, consumer price sensitivity to the costs of online food purchasing, growing sustainability-related concerns over food packaging and waste, and product sensory experience related to how online purchasing changes from in-person food selection. The end goal, emerging from a case study, is insight into the strategies and preparedness with which CPGs, food services, and retailers can better manage the supply chain in their food product offerings in the post-pandemic era.