Table 3.
Factors influencing food service selection, concerns and precautions taken, and payment methods used by a Brazilian sample when purchasing ready-to-eat food from food services before the COVID-19 pandemic and at two points during the pandemic (T1 and T2).
| n (%) | p-value* | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T0 | T1 | T2 | ||
| Food service selection factors for purchase of ready-to-eat food | ||||
| Affordable price, sales, and discounts/ Free delivery | 168 (50.5)a | 148 (44.4)a | 234 (70.3)b | <0.001 |
| Service quality and service/delivery time | 199 (59.8)a | 158 (47.4)b | 0 (0.0)c | <0.001 |
| Menu/taste | 236 (70.9)a | 181 (54.4)b | 251 (75.4)a | <0.001 |
| Location of the establishment | 94 (28.2)a | 75 (22.5)a | 53 (15.9)b | <0.001 |
| Hygiene and cleanliness of the establishment | 142 (42.6)a | 137 (41.1)a | 0 (0.0)b | <0.001 |
| Compliance with safety protocols during delivery (mask use, hand hygiene, safety distance between delivery workers and customers, among others) | 96 (28.8)a | 159 (47.7)b | 0 (0.0)c | <0.001 |
| Compliance with safety protocols in the restaurant (mask use, hand hygiene, environmental hygiene, safety distance between customers, among others) | 30 (9.0)a | 92 (27.6)b | 55 (16.5)c | <0.001 |
| Familiarity/popularity of the restaurant | 76 (22.8) | 71 (21.3) | 69 (20.7) | 0.717 |
| Payment methods | 52 (15.6) | 53 (15.9) | 54 (16.2) | 0.971 |
| Awareness of the financial difficulties of the establishment | 22 (6.6)a | 61 (18.3)b | 22 (6.6)a | <0.001 |
| No factor | 5 (1.5)a | 19 (5.7)b | 3 (0.9)a | <0.001 |
| Concerns regarding food delivery service purchases | ||||
| If the meal is prepared with hygiene practices | 212 (63.7)a | 147 (44.1)b | 253 (76.0)c | <0.001 |
| If the packaging material is cleanable | 6 (1.8)a | 102 (30.6)b | 80 (24.0)b | <0.001 |
| If the packaging is tamper-proof | 25 (7.5)a | 25 (7.5)a | 106 (31.8)b | <0.001 |
| How food delivery is conducted | 10 (3.0)a | 26 (7.8)a | 108 (32.4)b | <0.001 |
| No concerns | 56 (16.8)a | 19 (5.7)b | 57 (17.1)a | <0.001 |
| Precautions taken when purchasing meals via delivery service | ||||
| Verification of package integrity | 185 (55.6)a | 188 (56.5)a | 229 (68.8)b | <0.001 |
| Package cleanliness | 73 (21.9)a | 217 (65.2)b | 143 (42.9)c | <0.001 |
| Proper package disposal | 138 (41.4)a | 234 (70.3)b | 150(45.0)a | <0.001 |
| Heating the food prior to consumption | 51 (15.3)a | 83 (24.9)b | 0 (0.0)c | <0.001 |
| No precautions taken | 43 (12.9)a | 25 (7.5)b | 33 (9.9)ab | 0.016 |
| Payment methods used in the purchase of ready-to-eat food | ||||
| Cash | 141 (42.3)a | 72 (21.6)b | 60 (18.0)b | <0.001 |
| Credit card | 287 (86.2)a | 258 (77.5)b | 302 (90.7)a | <0.001 |
| Mobile application | 97 (29.1)a | 135 (40.5)b | 123 (36.9)b | <0.001 |
| Payment bracelet | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.3) | 0.368 |
| Bank transfer | 10 (3.0)a | 27 (8.1)b | 29 (8.7)b | <0.001 |
| Meal voucher↓ | 6 (1.8) | 4 (1.2) | 5 (1.5) | 0.717 |
| Food voucher↑ | 8 (2.4)a | 9 (2.7)a | 21 (6.3)b | <0.001 |
n = 333; T0 = pre-pandemic period; T1 = 6 months after the COVID-19 pandemic began; T2 = 18 months after T1. The sum of the percentages for each aspect evaluated is greater than 100 because participants could select more than one option. ↓Meal voucher refers to a predetermined amount of money provided in card form to employees for purchasing ready-to-eat meals. ↑Food voucher refers to a predetermined amount of money provided in card form to employees for purchasing foodstuffs. *Cochran’s Q test. a,b,cDifferent lowercase letters in the same line indicate significant differences (p < 0.01).