Authors: Panagiotis Chatzimichalis, Paraskevi Boufounou, Kanellos Toudas, Chrisovalantis Malesios

Title: Digital marketing in the food & beverage sector during the COVID-19: Empirical evidence from Greece

Abstract

This study aims to examine how various forms of digital marketing influenced consumers' decisions on food and beverage (F&B) businesses in Greece during the COVID crisis. The effectiveness of the most commonly practiced digital marketing strategies and their significance are analyzed in light of the ongoing pandemic, which confined the majority of people indoors and compelled businesses to come up with innovative strategies to attract customers. For the empirical study, two different questionnaires were created, and completed by 47 F&B professionals and 70 consumers respectively. Since the impact of COVID-19 has been catalytic for companies in this sector (suspending their in-person operations) and there was no prior experience in formulating policies, the exploration and comparison of the views of the two sample groups/categories are particularly crucial. Responding to the closed-ended questions, participants shared their opinions on the standards for selecting restaurants, the advantages and disadvantages of different types of digital marketing strategies, and their personal preferences, before and during the pandemic. The study's comparison of F&B expert and consumer responses on the majority of issues was consistent, which constitutes a significant contribution to the relevant literature. Professionals and consumers alike consider product quality as the most crucial factor when selecting a food establishment, and the majority of them utilize the same digital channels. In both categories/samples, a preference for using mobile phones over personal computers was observed. Finally, professionals who noted that they are not currently using digital marketing stated that they would most likely consider adopting it in the future. This study's findings are critical for marketing decision-making and policy formulation.