Evening and hot food to go on the rise, IGD report finds

The rise of evening offer and increasing demand for hot options are currently shaping the food to go sector, a new report from IGD has found.

The report, Food to go: What’s next for Shoppers, also notes that demand for convenience and new service expectations is influencing purchasing choices, particularly amongst younger shoppers. In particular, 40 per cent of 18-24 year-olds have stated that having the ability to pre-order is an important consideration in deciding where to purchase food to go.

“The third national lockdown resulted in a decrease in food to go missions, but not to the extent of the first, and interestingly, evening food to go missions became more common than lunch,” Rhian Thomas, Head of Insight at IGD, said.

“There was a 3 per cent increase in dedicated ‘food to go’ missions between February and March 2021 which is a reassuring indicator for the industry. But shopper behaviours have shifted significantly during the pandemic and as a result, we are seeing key trends emerge that operators, retailers and suppliers should consider.”

The quarterly report has found that evening food to go missions reached their highest recorded level in the most recent lockdown. The report attributes this to the growth of delivery services, which have made a wider range of products more accessible. However, as restrictions ease and the out of home sector reopens, evening food to go faces a considerable challenge, the report added.

With hot food to go options becoming more popular, the report predicts that demand for a range of food to go choices which are less portable could increase as levels of working from home are expected to be elevated compared to pre-pandemic times.

The report also reveals that food to go purchases continue to be driven by a typical 9-5 weekday working pattern, despite more people working from home.

“This behaviour could continue to be supported by a ‘suburban shift’ as food to go businesses shift away from city centres into suburban areas to follow the consumer. A lower density footfall compared to city centres and transport hubs, combined with different peak times and shopper profiles, will mean new operating models will evolve to meet consumer needs,” the report notes.