Food-to-go a ‘growing challenge' for supermarkets
Four out of five UK shoppers are eating food not prepared at home.
The rise of food-to-go poses a “growing challenge” for supermarket retailers, shopper insights agency Shoppercentric claimed in their latest research.
Based on their survey, four in five UK shoppers were eating food not prepared at home, whilst one out of 10 said their food-to-go eating habit has reduced their household food spending.
“The fact that the food-to-go category is embracing healthier options and sustainability more quickly than grocery retailers means that no one in the grocery sector can afford to turn a blind eye to this challenge,” Shoppercentric managing director Jamie Rayner explained in a statement.
“For the supermarkets, food-to-go is a competitor hiding in plain sight and presents a growing challenge to which they need to rise,” he added.
More Millennials and Generation Z shoppers were seen to have embraced the food-to-go trend with 60% of the 18-24 age group and 58% of people aged 25-34 said they eat on the go in a coffee shop or sandwich store.
Further, 44% of the shoppers aged 25-34 said they had food delivered to their home or office in the last month by aggregators like UberEats and Deliveroo.
“They [younger generation] are doing this [eat food out of home] more often and they are the ones most likely to say food-to-go is causing them to spend less on groceries,” Rayner stressed.
