Cardlytics: There is an increased consumer appetite for new takeaway services and healthy food
Overall spending across the UK dining sector is on the rise.
Cardlytics released new insights revealing that spending on eating out surged 13.5% during the summer, partially driven by increased consumer appetite for delivery services, and healthy home delivery in particular.
Cardlytics looked at the spending behaviour of six million bank customers to determine how summer dining trends are changing.
According to the research, majority of consumer dining spend in July and August 2016 was on casual dining and pub brands; however, vertical disrupters, namely home delivery and quick service restaurants, outpaced the overall category growth, +23% and +18% respectively.
While overall average spend per visit fell by 5.2% over the summer months, consumers ate out more frequently compared to the same period last year. This suggests that consumers benefitted from a general drop in retail prices and increase in promotional activity as revealed by the latest index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and industry analysts Nielsen.
Home delivery service was the strongest performing category, with growth across overall spend, number of orders, as well as average transaction value. The strength of the category was driven by the likes of Deliveroo, Hello Fresh and Just Eat, all of which have seen significant growth in the past year.
Casual dining and pubs still hold most of the market share and had more visits, however average transaction value for both fell by more than in any other category – down 7.2% and 6.9% respectively.
Overall, brands that thrived in the summer months included Japanese fast food restaurant Wasabi, Harry Ramsdens and Five Guys which is ramping up regional expansion across the UK.
Duncan Smith, Head of Business Development at Cardlytics UK, said: “Our comprehensive data shows that despite the economic uncertainty, the restaurant sector had an excellent summer. Consumer appetite for spending on eating out remains healthy but brands will have to continue to work hard as competition for discretionary spend is likely to build towards the end of the year.
“The move towards new home delivery services is an interesting one because it has the potential to fundamentally change the relationship between restaurants and their customers. Brands will have to consider this new dynamic, particularly as they seek to build loyalty among their diners.”
