Food and beverage industry digitizes – 6.5 thousand. companies entered the internet in 2021, and courier services are booming.
Food and catering sectors are rapidly expanding online – only in 2021. almost 4 thousand. grocery stores and 2.5 thousand. of catering establishments have added to their basic activity in the National Court Register a code denoting sales via the Internet, which is becoming a standard nowadays. This translates into a dynamic development of the courier services sector. However, here dominate small and one-person businesses, most of which struggle with financial problems. For an analysis of how specific industries have changed and undergone digital transformation over the past two years, see the latest e-book Polish software house Advox Studio, specializing in eCommerce.
The last two years have been very difficult for the food service industry. Many entrepreneurs, in order to save themselves from losses and bankruptcy, have decided to expand their offerings by selling take-out and delivery food. Only in 2021. 2.5 thousand. foodservice owners have added an industry code denoting online sales to their main business in the National Register, according to a new analysis by global business intelligence firm Dun & Bradstreet. This strategy to some extent proved to be effective – last year despite the difficult time in the KRS there were 3 thousand. catering establishments. However, in the first quarter of 2022. this number has not increased.
¾ of foodservice companies are in poor financial condition
Unfortunately, the financial condition of the industry has deteriorated – in March 2022. as high as 78 percent. companies were in bad or very bad financial condition. Of the remaining 22 percent. the condition of just 3.7 percent of. can be described as very good. Catering companies are in the worst situation – the number of those in bad or very bad financial condition during the year increased from 60 percent. to over 77%. This means that as many as ⅔ of them are currently experiencing more or less financial problems. According to Dun & Bradstreet this is due to restrictions on weddings, parties and various types of gatherings.
Catering market in Poland remained in good shape for more than 10 years, and its value grew – comments Rafał Gadomski, CEO Advox Studio, a software house headquartered in Poznan and with branches in Europe that has completed over 200 e-commerce projects – Before March 2020, delivery accounted for less than 10% of the total sales of grocery stores. turnover of catering facilities. In 2020. the value of the industry declined by as much as 32%., and deliveries have quickly become the only source of revenue for many places. Now the possibility of delivery is basically a standard, consumers appreciate the convenience of this solution. Companies connect this trend with q-commerce and try to offer customers the fastest possible delivery of orders. The crisis has brought huge problems for the food service industry, but at the same time it has become an opportunity for development. This also applies to many industries, about which we write in detail in our study by on how the pandemic has forced digital transformation.
One industry that has grown its online business tremendously over the past two years is the food industry. According to KRS analysis from Dun & Bradstreet is the grocery stores most often added to their core business the PKD code meaning sale via the Internet – in total nearly 4 thousand. companies only in 2021.
In the courier industry only big and well-known companies are in a good financial situation
The dynamic development of deliveries and internet sales translated into the development of the courier industry. According to Dun & Bradstreet The number of courier companies, which has doubled in the last decade anyway, has grown at double-digit rates in the last two years. Currently there are 7.5 thousand registered in this sector. entities.
In 2020. The increase in the volume of delivered parcels amounted to 44%., courier company revenue up 1.7 billion from 2019., and the value of the postal delivery market reached PLN 11.5 billion. Paczkomaty – not only of InPost, because their own network of machines for parcel collection is also being developed by Poczta Polska, Allegro, PKN Orlen or Aliexpress – they already stand at almost every corner. Nowadays, courier companies are facing a new challenge – the growing popularity of q-commerce and the need to provide recipients with the shortest possible delivery time, what it takes to improve supply chain and logistics networks. Analysts predict that in 2023. the value of the postal market will reach 16.2 billion PLN with the handling of over a billion parcels per year – adds Rafał Gadomski, CEO Advox Studio.
However, the dynamic development, in terms of the number of courier companies, does not go hand in hand with a good financial condition of the sector, ¾ of entities have smaller or bigger financial problems in total. In a good financial situation are large and well-known companies, but the industry is dominated by small and sole proprietorships and they are primarily struggling.
In the latest e-book ‘How the pandemic changed the market’? Digital transformation in selected industries”prepared by experts from the eCommerce industry, you can read an analysis of the situation of the industries most changed by the pandemic, especially in terms of digital transformation. Experts also point to trends that will shape the situation and the market in the coming years.