Six out of ten Brits expected to return to restaurants, bars or cafes in first month of reopenings
Trust in hygiene and social distancing will be top factors once the lockdown fully ends, according to The NPD Group.
63% of British consumers say they will return to restaurants, bars or cafes in the first month these places reopen despite associating foodservice establishments with COVID-19 risks.
Results from The NPD Group’s second COVID-19 British Foodservice Sentiment Study showed that trust will be an important issue when foodservice operators re-open for business, with almost six out of 10 respondents (58%) saying restaurants and bars are the riskiest places to be infected with COVID-19, whilst nearly two thirds (64%) said they will only select restaurants, bars, cafes and other establishments that they trust.
Three quarters (76%) of the study respondents stated that good hygiene will be a more important factor in choosing a restaurant than before the lockdown. The same percentage say they want to see strict rules to ”prevent contagion” and 74% will opt for restaurants that can ”guarantee social distancing.”
“The majority of people in our survey plan to return to restaurants, bars and cafes within a month of lockdown ending, but in order to do so, they’ll need to trust operators to offer safe environments from the get-go. Our data shows that consumers were already acutely aware of cleanliness in eating out establishments before COVID-19,” The NPD Group insights director Dominic Allport explained.
NPD said the survey showed a clear majority of consumers still approving of the UK’s COVID-19 foodservice lockdown, with 64% of respondents agreeing with the policy, a slight increase compared to 62% in March.
In terms of what people missed as they stayed home, top reasons are spending time with family (39%), socializing with friends (37%), and eating something special they cannot cook (30%).
Delivery remains popular amongst the 18-to-34 age group (with 59% using this channel), but patronage dips to 32% in the 35-to-54 age bracket and falls to 13% for persons 55 years old and over.
“I’m certain operators will be successful in creating the high level of trust that consumers want on-premise. Understandably, there will still be some people who are reluctant to go out. Operators can build this into their channel strategy and encourage more people to try delivery, especially older age groups,” Allport added.
