Only 34% people will eat restaurant food in next 60 days, mostly home delivered: Survey

A recent study by Center for Disease Control, USA, released on September 11, says adults who tested positive for Covid-19 in July in America were twice as likely to have visited a restaurant or coffee shop in the last 14 days.

Only 34 per cent people are likely to eat restaurant food in the next two months and most of them will prefer to order food at home instead of dining out, according to a new survey.

People are concerned about catching Covid-19 infection in restaurants and cafes as they are frequented by a variety of people and studies indicate restaurants are most prone to virus spread because of the droplets generated while eating and the possibility of air transmission because of centralised air conditioning.

A recent study by Center for Disease Control, USA, released on September 11, says adults who tested positive for Covid-19 in July in America were twice as likely to have visited a restaurant or coffee shop in the last 14 days.

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The countrywide survey was conducted from September 1 to 8 by LocalCircles, a community social media platform that enables people and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and is also the pollster on governance and consumer issues in the country.

Even as restaurants are seeking permission from the government to start ‘al fresco’ to ensure social distancing and minimise the risk of virus spread, the survey was conducted to know how Indians ate restaurant food in the past 60 days and how they plan to do it in the next 60 days.

The survey received over 33,000 responses from 240 districts in the country and the findings show the struggle for restaurants will likely continue longer than expected. Up to 61 per cent respondents were men and 39 per cent women. Among those surveyed, 53 per cent respondents were from Tier 1 cities; 32 per cent from Tier 2 and 15 per cent from Tier 3-4 and rural districts, Sachin Taparia, founder of LocalCircles, told The Indian Express.

Only 28 per cent respondents said they ate restaurant food in the last 60 days, and most did so by ordering food at home. Asked how they expect to eat restaurant food in the next 60 days, at least 22 per cent said they have no plans to visit a restaurant but will opt for home delivery of restaurant food a few times. Sixty-four per cent said they neither plan to visit a restaurant nor order restaurant food at home.

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Asked what food they would most likely eat at a restaurant or get home delivered in the next 60 days, 11 per cent said international cuisine; 46 per cent said Indian cuisine; six per cent said fast food; 14 per cent said sweets or bakery items and another 14 per cent said non-vegetarian delicacies. Nine per cent were not sure about their choice.

Swiggy and Zomato have been reporting roughly 50 per cent sales recovery, including supplies of groceries and essentials. There have been reports that many restaurants and cafes have shut as they were unable to recover even their operational costs. Many others are barely hanging on.