The restaurant industry could lose up to $ 20 billion over the next year due to telecommuting that means people no longer frequent restaurants like they did before the pandemic.
A study by Dalhousie University in Halifax, which surveyed nearly 10,900 Canadians, including 1,313 Quebecers, reveals the financial impact of working from home by July 2021 on the losing food service sector (restaurants). compared to retail sales of food products.
“From an economic point of view, having more people working remotely could be responsible for at least 30% of lost sales in the restaurant sector for this year alone,” said Sylvain Charlebois, professor and director from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytical Science Laboratory.
Restaurants located in the country’s urban cores will be the most affected, he anticipates.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 36.8% of those surveyed went to a restaurant for a meal or a break at least twice a week, while only 23.3% consider doing so after the crisis sanitary.
In terms of people’s intention to telecommute, 23.6% of respondents said they intended to work from home more often within a year. It is in Quebec that the proportion of people who plan to continue working from home for the next year is the highest, with a rate of 28.9%.
Beyond the coronavirus pandemic, access to Montreal is partly the cause of this interest in teleworking.
“Access to Montreal is extremely difficult, so if someone is able to avoid all of that, obviously it’s an attractive proposition,” commented Professor Charlebois.
And in view of this prospect, many restaurants risk, according to him, to “disappear forever”, especially since approximately 57% of the people questioned plan to spend less in the restaurant precisely because of teleworking.
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