A behavioral study on the factors influencing selection of restaurants online during COVID-19 using multivariate statistical analysis

摘要

In e-commerce landscapes, online food ordering and delivery service is emerging as the fastest growing industry. Indian food delivery market size is expected to reach 7.5 to 8 billion US dollars in 2023. With the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, many dine-in restaurants are closed and online food ordering is affected enormously. This study is aimed to capture the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on customers who order food online and analyze the various factors that influence the selection of restaurants online. The role of demographic variables of the respondents on the influencing factors, mode of payment, satisfaction, number of orders, and the most ordered meal is also studied. A self-administered questionnaire is used in this study to collect responses from 403 customers with a past experience of ordering food online. Two major factors emphasising on product and service are obtained as an outcome from Exploratory Factor Analysis that explains 67.72% of the total variance of choosing a restaurant online. Further, the measurement model fit is validated through Structural Equation Modeling. From the validated model, the product factor includes taste, price, discount and offer, the quantity of food, hygiene, and brand name. The service factor includes novelty, location of the restaurant, variety, packaging, nutrition, and promptness of delivery. Due to COVID-19, there is a 70.9% drop in the average frequency of ordering food online during the study period. Among the genders, men place higher food orders per month than women. Dinner is the most ordered meal and breakfast is the least ordered meal among all age categories. Taste is the most influencing factor that influences the customer in selecting a restaurant online, followed by hygiene, the quantity of food, discount and offers.