In Singapore, food delivery services from platforms such as Deliveroo have protected approximately 110,000 jobs across partner restaurants from being lost or furloughed between April and June.
According to a survey, which was conducted among Deliveroo’s restaurant partners, it has been found that delivery services supported a turnover of S$2 billion for partner restaurants during the period.
The Capital Economics report also found that the delivery services have also played a huge role in keeping parts of the hospitality sector operating in a challenging environment, and the cost to the government could have been potentially much worse without them.
One restaurant which benefited from delivery services is Takagi Ramen, which recently opened its latest outlet in Woodlands.
In a statement to The New Paper, Takagi Ramen’s managing director, Yang Kaiheng, said that it was a chaotic time for the outlets during the start of the circuit breaker, and that it was immensely challenging adapting to the new regulations. However, having already partnered with Deliveroo for three years, the Japanese restaurant chain saved time and cost by not having to invest in the required infrastructure to survive the restrictions on their own.
Takagi Ramen, which now has 65 full-time staff working across eight outlets, was also able to leverage on the pick-up service option provided by delivery services.
Mr Yang said the savings allowed them to retrain staff, into multiple different and new roles as a result of social distancing rules; thus allowing them to retain the staff instead of letting them go.
Several restaurants – approximately 2,000 – partnered with Deliveroo for the first time during circuit breaker. It can be safely said that delivery service platforms are among the true winners amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, and will continue to play a critical role in the recovery period following the coronavirus, not just in Singapore, but across the world as well.
