CALF_News_October_November_2020

29 CALF News • October | November 2020 • www.calfnews.net F uture beef-buying habits are being altered daily by consumer response to COVID-19’s persistent dis- ruption of restaurant dining, retail food purchases, meal preparation and new conveniences virtually ignored before the pandemic. That theme was pondered by another pandemic-caused behavior – a virtual Zoom convention of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) in mid- September. TSCRA typically draws 6,000 to 7,000 people to the event. But its 143 rd annual convention, postponed from March, relied on attendees to tune in through their computers, tablets or smartphones. Despite the lack of in-person networking that always highlights the convention and trade show, an abundance of beef marketing and production information was beamed from TSCRA’s Fort Worth headquarters and other speaker locations. COVID’s impact on consumer beef purchases and con- sumption opened some eyes. Demand has not gone away, but old buying patterns have for many, said Rick Lowe, senior research manager for Miden Marketing, a Chicago-based com- pany that specializes in consumer food buying habits. Lowe said a survey of meat-buying habits following the COVID-19 ambush of America dug deeper into what con- sumers were seeing at the supermarket. With the lockdown of restaurants and fast food outlets, grocery stores were nearly the only source for meat and other foods and household products. “Early on, there was panic buying. Consumers felt food prices would skyrocket,” Lowe said.“They did rise, but beef and other meat prices have dropped [since the spring].” New buying habits resulted as consumers took advantage of online shop- ping, grocery pickup and other methods of purchasing food without much human contact. “Many are now shop- ping differently,” Lowe said. “About 55 percent say they are buying and freezing more meat. About 61 percent are experimenting with new ways to cook and purchasing a wider variety of meat. “Overall meats sales are up 32 percent at stores [after being up 90 percent the first few weeks of the pandemic scare.] Beef sales are up 20 percent [for all types of cuts]. They want to try different recipes, to cook meat differently.” E-commerce beef sales caught on early in the pandemic. Lowe said 50 percent of those surveyed indicated they pur- chased meat online or by phone. Many had been against buying meat online. “They liked to view it at the store,” Lower said, but many felt unsafe being around people and used different buying methods.“They used a click-and-connect method to pick up groceries at the store or have them delivered.” That online beef buying may be here to stay.“About 35 percent said they have not and will not buy online, but nearly two-thirds say they are willing to buy meat online,” he said. “About one-third say they primarily want to purchase meat in an online method.” The beef industry depends heavily on food service. Melissa Doolin-Koehne, an analyst for Dallas-based Black Box Intel- ligence, which gathers data on and for restaurants and other businesses, said restaurant sales decreased by 65 percent after March, and remain about 20 percent below this time in 2019. “Overall, there are winners and losers,” she said.“Full service, casual dining to full fine dining are all struggling. Dine-in is often not an option unless it is patio seating.” Fast-casual to quick-service, fast food restaurants saw early decline due to limitations placed on them by state and local governments. But they are seeing positive growth. “Anything with a drive-thru is winning,” Koehne said. “People have gravitated to convenience and comfort,” with Meeting Consumer Demand, Whatever It Takes! By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Convention “Our members don’t say ‘yes,’ they say, ‘hell yes,’ in their willingness to come help.” – Outgoing TSCRA President Bobby McKnight Continued on page 30  Look for more beef sales through E-commerce.