The COVID-19 pandemic forced some dine-in restaurants to close it’s doors temporarily while others have completely shut operations. With empty dining rooms, restaurants are depending on pickup and delivery orders more than ever.
Even though, at an overall sector level, people are less likely to buy from restaurants amidst the ongoing COVID crisis, some brands have seen an increase in Buzz or Impression. One such brand is fast food restaurant chain, KFC, which has surprisingly seen an positive graph during this time.
According to the data collected by YouGov, KFC’s positive Buzz score (whether one has heard something POSITIVE about a brand in the past two weeks) has seen an increase of 12.3 points, from +27.5 on 3rd February’ 2020 to +39.8 on 3rd May’ 2020.
The data also shows intent to purchase from a restaurant (whether dining out or food delivery) has plummeted amidst the pandemic, with the number of UAE residents who are very likely or likely to purchase from restaurant chains in the next two weeks seeing a decline ever since the virus first hit the country in early February.
Following the pandemic, KFC was one of the brands which soon launched a contactless delivery service yet having a personalized consumer experience. The brand launched a social campaign in March, asking customers to ‘Stay Safe. Stay Home.’ and encouraging them to order online. These measures credit to the fact that the food chain’s current customer level seems to be stable during this time period, from 33.1 at the start of February to 33.5 at the beginning of May.
