20-Jan-2022 | Market Research Store
The worldwide food and beverage industry is among the oldest known industries. Globally, the sector is now valued at USD 6.1 trillion dollars. For generations, physical storefronts, exhibits, and expos have dominated the food and beverage commerce in this business. When the epidemic came, everything changed.
The epidemic wreaked havoc on every area of the global economy in some form. The food and beverage business was one of the hardest hit. When shelter-in-place regulations were implemented, traffic to restaurants and cafés suffered as a result. As compared to the pre-pandemic conditions, traffic in Latin America fell by 75 percent, while traffic in North America and the Middle East fell by 90 percent.
The food and beverage sector also significantly relies on real-time logistics. When operations are regular, this model is great, and it can even endure a certain amount of supply chain instability. However, the pandemic's worldwide supply chain disruption has the potential to be devastating.
Thousands of restaurants, pubs, as well as some physical grocery shops, have closed or suffered economic losses as a result of all of these reasons during the epidemic.
Digital Tools and Technologies Help is on the Way
Thankfully, the pandemic's aftermath was not all despair and gloom. While foot visitation to eateries and physical retailers decreased, online shopping grew. A third of customers purchased groceries online during the pandemic's peak, with 41 percent of those doing so for the first time. Online grocery shopping is likely to become a long-term habit due to the convenience of having food delivered to your front door.
This tendency wasn't simply restricted to the retail sector. According to McKinsey, nearly 70 percent of B2B policymakers are fascinated with placing orders on the internet. And this isn't a passing trend: 89 percent of respondents expect to make B2B transactions remotely in the foreseeable future.
The Importance of Alibaba.com's in Global Foods & Beverage Offering
Joining physical trade shows and exhibits have been the primary means of recruiting consumers for many food and beverage manufacturers. Many firms confess that this technique is hit-or-miss, that it costs a lot of money to attend, and that in the end, expensive offline meetings and discussions might result in few orders.
The epidemic has recently had a huge impact on in-person displays. As a result, providers lost touch with their consumers. When the epidemic struck, disrupting global supply chains, reducing physical traffic, and causing lockdowns, suppliers chose to test Alibaba.com. Despite the fact that many businesses believe themselves to be computer aware, there were concerns that e-commerce would be a suitable fit for them. Many people were taken aback by the amazing results in the end.