Retail, travel and leisure is the best performing segment of the total eating out market and is expected to outpace total market growth throughout 2023, according to a new report from Lumina Intelligence.
The growth is being by the retail channel, which has benefited, in particular, from being a low-ticket alternative to other eating out options as consumers feel the squeeze, Lumina’s new UK Eating Out Market Report 2023.
The retail segment on its own (which includes coffee shops, café and dessert parlours, sandwich retailers and bakery-led operators, supermarket to go offerings and convenience store grab and go) is forecast to grow by 5.3% this year, to a value of £20bn, with outlet numbers set to increase by 1% to 78,947.
Some of the key growth drivers in retail, travel and leisure have been the recovery of weekday city centre and high street footfall, and the shift to lower ticket meal solutions, but internal factors such as tech-led innovations and new product development are also playing their part, according to Lumina.
Coffee shops, cafes and dessert parlours are forecast to see outlet growth of +3.2% by the end of this year, with sandwich and bakery expected to grow by 1.3%.
Two brands in this channel driving notable growth are Black Sheep Coffee and Tim Hortons, which are forecast to increase outlet numbers by 30.2% and 27.5%, respectively. While Gail’s is forecast to grow its estate by 23%.
The fast food channel is also driving a lot of the unit growth in the eating out market, with outlet numbers estimated to increase by 1.4% in 2023.
Greggs, McDonald’s and KFC are all forecast to grow their market share due to wider availability through physical and omnichannel expansion, as well as meeting demand for low ticket offerings as consumers reduce discretionary spend, Lumina noted.
To find out more about Lumina Intelligence’s new UK Eating Out Market Report 2023, and to purchase your copy, please click here.
