Majority will eat out as much as they used to, poll finds, but health more of a priority

A report by CGA has found that nearly two-thirds of adults are focusing on health and fitness, including improved diet, while the majority of customers will eat and drink out as much as they used to.

While 32% said they would eat out in pubs and restaurants less frequently than they previously used to, 61% said they would drink and eat out as much as they did before the coronavirus hit, with 7% saying they would eat out more.

Phil Tate, group chief executive of CGA said: "The results put into context the task that those pub, restaurant and bar operators that do eventually emerge the other side of the lockdown will face in getting the public back into their establishments. Cash will be tight, but the type of offer may have to change too, if those health-conscious tendencies become ingrained.

"But what the survey also showed is that those that go out most are the ones most likely to return to old habits, and they will be undoubtedly the main focus of renewed marketing efforts," Tate added.

The snap poll, conducted on 28-29 March, also showed eating and drinking out remains a vital part of the British way of life, with only visiting relatives coming above eating out as the activity that the public are missing most during the current lockdown.

As a result of the lockdown, four in five adults have now stopped eating out-of-home totally, even for a takeaway, with just 13% only doing this when ‘essential'.

The top six out-of-home brands people said they would miss most visiting during the lockdown were JD Wetherspoon, followed by Nando's, Pizza Hut, Toby Carvery, Harvester and Five Guys.

Speaking to The Caterer today a spokesperson for JD Wetherspoon responded: "Wetherspoon has been around for 40 years and with almost 900 pubs it's very much a part of people's everyday lives. When something is taken away from you without any warning it does have an impact. In times like these people like their comfort food and drink. Once this horrendous time has passed we will reopen."