The value gap - "eat at home" versus "casual dining"

The value gap between "cook-&-eat-in" and "casual dining" meals continues to close. When the drivers of the gap are understood, they invite strategy considerations - when some segments are eating out more often than buying take-home food.   

Meal preparation from Monday to Thursday is driven by convenience. A mixture of social interaction, nurturing and convenience drives meal preparation from Friday to Sunday. If the value of a casual meal makes it an acceptable alternative to a “Cook & eat in” option then we have a potential major change in food buying behaviour from Monday to Thursday.

 

The impact is significant and when the value gap is plotted over the last 20 years all indications are that this potential change is getting closer.

 

As food spending has been buffeted by higher housing and transport costs, and then recession, it has been a new experience for some household segments to manage the cost of their weekly food bill. This has provided discounters with a faster growth in share of business from price-sensitive consumers. Some have however been, tried and retreated from using discounters for a greater portion for the weekly grocery shop, indicating there is still a lot of value in the full shopping experience.