The catering industry is one of the most battered during the coronavirus. While food delivery does help cash flow back to the industry, some analysts say it may not bounce back fast after the epidemic.

According to a report from research institute backed by Evergrand group and Tsinghua University, compared with catering business revenue in the period of Spring Festival in 2019, it is expected to fall by half this year, which is about 500 billion yuan (about 71.3 billion U.S. dollars).

Teresa Wang, vice president of operations at Shiheng Technology Service Company, noted that it would still take time for people just to go back to restaurants physically after the epidemic ends. 

"So now all the restaurants are looking for alternative cash inflows. In the past couple of weeks, more than 100,000 restaurants newly launched food delivery platforms. So, these served as a main source of cash inflows in this difficult time," said Wang.

For the short term, food delivery is a good makeup for cash inflows. Online business is not only compensating some restaurants' losses, Wang said hotpot and fast food stood out in such a period. The company's client, a hotpot brand, has tripled in sales in the past few weeks compared with the same period last year.

"It's not just the catering industry. We see some traditional retail players like luxury goods, toys and even mobile operators now also going online for the online traffic," Wang added.

While the number of the confirmed cases keeps going down, and the turning point is around corner. Well-branded restaurant chains may have enough cash flow to deal with it, but how will small diners attract customers during this tough time?

"I think first of all, small restaurants have to ensure food safety as much as the big players. You have to make it very visible and transparent to customers. Secondly, I think it's important for the small restaurants to take advantage of their closeness to the local community," Wang said.

"We do see some creative players. They do WeChat groups and set menus that can deliver on their own. So they can do it in one spot for all the customers in one particular community," she added.

Wang pointed out the brands should realize the importance to get in touch with customers through the epidemic. It is a good way for smart brands to maintain access to their customers so that can survive through any difficult time.

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