The impact of COVID on OCS
The European Vending & Coffee Service Association recently published a new report on the COVID-19 impact on vending and OCS-industry.
The report is based on survey responses to a range of business-related questions in relation to the latest restrictions in place from July to October, and contrasts this to experiences during the Spring lockdowns. Both vending operators and suppliers (such as manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, payment solution providers) in 15 European countries have been asked to participate to the study.
Obviously, the ongoing crisis has a severe impact on the industry. And here are a few key findings:
- 48% of operators saw a reduction in turnover in September of between 21-40%. A significant change compared to the April losses when the majority (58%) saw turnover losses of between 61-99%
- It is not surprising that people working from home was the main reason for a loss of turnover by operators during both reporting periods.
- There is a bit of optimism: During the Autumn period more operators (43%) planned investments based on sales performance compared to the Spring (33%).
- Despite this, in April 2021 only 14% of suppliers expect similar turnover to 2019.
The report highlights that both suppliers and operators are concerned with more employees working from home. However, opportunities exist. Some operators actually see good potential for the industry to replace larger canteens and cafeterias in companies.
Obviously, the report goes more into details for each segment of the industry, and highlights the situation in different countries in details. However, I can’t place the full report in this article as time and space are limited. But I’ll keep you posted if I hear or get more info in the coming months.
For more info: www.vending-europe.eu
European Vending AssociationVendingOcsCovidSurveyMarket Data