E-commerce will play a significant role in the food and beverage (F&B) sector as the demand for online orders and delivery services continue to rise in the country, Mondrian Doha executive assistant manager Mikel Ibrahim has said. He was highlighting the positive impact of adapting to digital platforms on their business to serve more customers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have seen a steep increase in online orders and delivery services prior to lifting the restrictions in Qatar as well as in Phase 1 of the lift,” Ibrahim told Gulf Times. Morimoto, Ella Mia and Smoke & Mirrors began welcoming guests (pre-booking required) on July 1 while Walima will reopen on July 15. Strict sanitary and hygiene measures are in place, complying with government directives.
The Qatar government is now implementing Phase 2 of the gradual lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in the country. Restaurants in tourist areas such as Souq Waqif, Souq Al Wakra, The Pearl-Qatar and Katara-the Cultural Village are allowed to operate apart from those in sports clubs/tourist places, Qatar Museums, AlHazm and Msheireb.
Phase 2 also allows takeaways and home deliveries for restaurants, cafeterias and cafes (coffee shops) in malls, shopping centres and other non-designated tourist areas. “With those surges in orders and customer behaviour changes, and as the Covid-19 outbreak continues to evolve, it will undoubtedly have a significant effect on our business,” Ibrahim said. “We foresee the shift of customer behaviour to e-commerce to continue as a trend throughout this year and we are very well geared to respond to it."
Ibrahim lauded Qatar’s advanced and efficient Information and Communication Technology infrastructure, particularly during this current situation in which are people are relying on fast and uninterrupted connectivity.
“The Covid-19 pandemic raised a key concern among all sectors and industries operating locally, and the need for a resilient Internet connection with sufficient bandwidth to meet an explosion of data needs was a must,” he pointed out.
Ibrahim noted that Qatar is among the countries whose wireless and fixed networks are holding up well against massive spikes in demand and allowing the use of emerging technologies for remote work and study.
“Being a digitally advanced nation, data usage and the proportion of ‘high bandwidth’ being used have been rising long before the outbreak, and Qatar has had the insight to make full-fibre broadband a major priority well ahead of time,” he stressed.