Three of four diners say health and safety concerns are the biggest deterrent to dining out, far outweighing financial reasons.
That’s according to the Zagat Future of Dining study conducted in May and distributed in partnership with the James Beard Foundation. The results included 6,775 consumer responses. 76% of respondents reported that pre-COVID-19 they dined out two or more times per week.
Outdoor seating and reduced restaurant capacity are most likely to increase comfort levels and influence return. Eighty-three percent (83%) of those not immediately interested in returning to restaurants will be made more comfortable with social distancing measures and masks worn by staff.
The study clearly showed that diners miss restaurants and the entire experience of dining out, but when restaurants reopen, comfort levels vary. Two of three diners are planning to wait more than a week to return to a restaurant. Of those, 93% will wait more than three weeks and 20% say they’ll wait more than three months.
As expected, consuming meals at home has become a much larger part of consumers’ lives during the crisis. In terms of economic impact, 51% of people are very/somewhat likely to reduce spend on dining. Grocery shopping, along with streaming service subscriptions and contributing to investments were the areas of spending least likely to be cut.
In addition, restaurant delivery continues to grow. 69% of consumers ordered delivery pre-COVID-19 growing to 88% during — a 19% increase. Of those not dining out immediately, 82% will continue to order delivery/takeout.
The study also found that cooking has become part of the daily ritual for 81% of respondents. Only 19% ordered delivery or takeout.
The study projects that meals at home will increase after the crisis. Some 57% said they expect to eat breakfast at home, up from 52%, 44% expect to lunch at home, up from 31% before the crisis, and 57% expect to eat dinner at home, up from 41% pre-crisis.