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EatingOut
| Hospitality Today | Summer 2017
News & Trends
Eating out spend falls in 2017
Spending in the UK leisure sector fell
slightly in the second quarter of 2017,
as consumers became more cautious,
according to the latest Leisure Consumer
report by Deloitte. Restaurant spending
saw the largest year-on-year decline,
falling by seven percentage points.
The quarter-on-quarter picture is similar,
particularly for areas of discretionary
spending such as eating and drinking outside
of the home. Spending in coffee shops and
restaurants both saw a quarterly fall of
4%, while spending in pubs and bars saw a
decline of 3% from the 1st quarter of 2017.
Simon Oaten of Deloitte, comments:
“There has undoubtedly been some loss of
momentum in the leisure sector during the
second quarter of 2017. Weak consumer
confidence, driven largely by rising inflation
and lower real wage growth, has led to
household austerity measures which have
impacted restaurants, cafés and bars.
“We are now beginning to see the same shift
from discretionary to essential spending in the
leisure sector that we have already seen in the
retail market. Leisure consumers are switching
from discretionary, experience-led activities in
order to protect their everyday leisure spending
such as their daily coffee or TV subscription.
The question for the UK leisure sector is:
can the leisure consumer continue to protect
their leisure spending even as prices on
the high street start to rise?”
Restaurant customers open to
more digitization of service
A survey of 1,500 consumers to establish
their restaurant ordering expectations has
been carried out by Ordamo. Table service
is an absolute consumer expectation.
99% expect table service when visiting a
restaurant for dinner, 83% for breakfast
and 96% for lunch. However, diners are
expecting a shift towards digitalization.
Over half of Nando’s consumers (52%)
would like to be able to order their food
and drink using a digital tablet or app. 40%
and 44% respectively would welcome Pizza
Express and Wagamama offering the same.
51% find it annoying having to go to a
bar or counter to order and subsequently
wait in a queue (52%) when dining out in
a restaurant. The introduction of tablet or
app-based ordering would eliminate some
of the biggest bugbears consumers have -
for example, 91% of consumers find it
annoying being ignored by staff because
this slows down service or involves waiting
for the bill, which are frustrations for 87%
and 72% of diners respectively. Similarly,
55% find it a nuisance not being able to
order a drink mid-meal with ease.
Daniel Potter, CEO, Ordamo commented:
“Interestingly, consumers are very receptive to
upselling mid-meal – something that I’m sure
is music to many operators’ ears. Six in seven
(86%) believe the ability to order additional
dishes and drinks mid-meal with ease is
important for a great dining experience.”