Demand for delivery in Moscow due to snowfall was curbed by a shortage of couriers
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The heavy snowfall that hit Moscow over the weekend had a noticeable impact on consumer behavior. Attendance at shopping centers and fitness clubs has decreased, but demand for the delivery of groceries and ready-made meals from restaurants has increased. But the business was unable to satisfy all requests due to an acute shortage of couriers. In addition, the increased travel time by taxi held back drivers’ turnover, despite tariffs that had increased by one and a half to two times.
The Mall Index (the number of visitors per 1 thousand square meters of space) in Moscow shopping centers due to snowfall on Sunday, December 3, decreased by 5% year-on-year and by 13% by November 26, calculated for Kommersant in Focus Technologies. Managing partner of RedStone Indira Shafikova also talks about a strong decrease in attendance over the past weekend and in the last week of November.
Traffic in Moscow fitness clubs, according to estimates by Elena Silina, president of the National Fitness Community, decreased on Sunday by 7% compared to usual values. She attributes this to the difficult transport situation during snowfall and the lack of cleared parking spaces. The President of the Association of Fitness Industry Operators, Olga Kiseleva, confirms that many clubs cleaned the territory on their own. “There was simply no paid parking, clients were late for their appointment time,” says Lyalya Sadykova, owner of the Lucky Like and Curlers beauty salon chain.
At the same time, worsening weather led to a surge in demand for delivery. In Yakitoria restaurants, the number of orders for home delivery increased by 20% from December 1 to 3. Burger King saw a 5% increase over the entire past week. Vkusville says that the average number of orders per day has increased by 12% over the past two weeks. Yandex Food reported that on Friday demand increased by 19% compared to the previous week, and on Saturday by 21%. The service did not provide data for Sunday. Wildberries noted a sharp increase in demand for snow shovels in the first days of December, adding that delivery times to delivery points have not changed.
General Director of Infoline-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov says that severe bad weather usually leads to an increase in demand for online delivery by two to three times or more. But, according to the expert, there was no talk of a comparable increase in turnover this time due to a shortage of couriers. “Services work at their limit even during normal periods; increasing load at peak times is not always possible,” he explains. Managing partner of Moremania Artem Lomize also confirms that there were no couriers and in most cases delivery had to be limited. One of Kommersant’s interlocutors in the restaurant market says that delivery services limited orders due to a shortage of couriers.
Rosinter Restaurants (IL Patio, Planet Sushi, etc. chains) indicate that they have assigned an additional staff of couriers to work on weekends.
During a snowfall, not only does the number of orders increase, but the quality of their execution also decreases, points out Data Insight partner Fyodor Virin: “Roads and passages to houses are clogged, scooters and scooters work poorly, couriers take longer to transport orders and deliver them cold.” According to his observations, consumers can place several orders at once, further loading the networks, and then abandon them. The couriers themselves often have to be financially motivated to work in bad weather, adds Mr. Burmistrov. Yandex Shop says that couriers’ income increased by about 60% this week. Yandex Food adds that during such periods the courier can deliver two orders from neighboring establishments at once, and in extreme cases dynamic pricing is enabled. Nevertheless, the shortage of couriers, according to Mr. Burmistrov, forces services to limit the acceptance of orders. “If they are accepted but not delivered, there will be significant consumer backlash,” he points out.
Bad weather also led to an increase in taxi fares. According to estimates provided by RIA Novosti, on the morning of December 4, the cost of a trip to Moscow increased by one and a half to two times, to 1.8–2.2 thousand rubles. Later, tariffs stabilized slightly. Gazprombank analyst Sergei Libin notes that increasing tariffs during peak periods of demand allows services to bring the number of orders closer to the number of available cars. According to him, the turnover of services on such days should increase, despite such curbs on demand. Stanislav Schwagerus, head of the competence center of the International Eurasian Taxi Forum, says that in practice the drivers themselves are unable to earn additional income – due to the situation on the roads, as travel times are increasing and they are taking fewer orders.
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