Out-of-home Foodservice and Drive Throughs Predicted to be the Winners While Visits Slip, NPD says
The growing trend for convenience has attributed to less consumers going out.
The foodservice industry in the UK is said to have an increase in spend of 5% amidst a continuing fall in visits from 11.29 billion in 2018 to 11.23 billion by 2020.
According to a study by NPD, the spending growth is mainly driven by operators increasing menu prices as a response to rising cost pressures. The average individual cheque reached £5.00 in 2018 and will rise an additional 5.6% by 2020 to £5.30.
Meanwhile, the slip in visits is attributed to more consumers shopping online. The off-premise sector are predicted to see a 4% growth to 7.2 billion visits as well as a 10% rise in spend to £27.87 billion in the next two years. The takeaway and grab-and-go channel contributes 83% of this growth.
“The pressures affecting on-premise eating and drinking is a big theme in British foodservice. The old habit of going shopping and finding a place to sit down and eat is on the wane as more people shop online,” Dominic Allport, insights director with The NPD Group, said.
He also mentioned that the off-premise sector could be a way for the out-of-home foodservice industry to address the decline on the high street.
“But operators must address the big price gap between on-premise versus off-premise. The average on-premise cheque of £7.17 is nearly twice the £3.66 seen for off-premise purchases. Is that good for the industry?” Allport continued.
In addition, delivery and drive-thru are segments that are expected to grow by 2020 as well. The delivery segment will occupy 15% off-premise foodservice market as compared to 13% in 2018. As for drive-thru, NPD says it will contribute 14% in the next two years from up from 6%.
