Three in five worried about returning to bars and restaurants

Operators looking to reopen in the next few weeks will have to work especially hard to ease safety concerns, as the majority of consumers still feel worried about returning to hospitality spaces, the new Recovery Report by HIM/MCA Insight has revealed.

According to the report, although 86% of consumers are missing eating out in a restaurant, and 76% are missing drinking in a pub or bar, three in five said they’d feel worried going to hospitality spaces over and above supermarkets, convenience stores or offices.

Unsurprisingly given the ongoing debate concerning outside/inside transmission, over half of consumers (58%) said they would feel worried returning to an inside-only location, and 54% would feel worried returning to a sit-down foodservice location.

Comparatively, only 35% said they would feel worried returning to an outside-only location, a figure that rose slightly (to 43%) for a location with both outside and inside seating.

When asked what would make them feel more comfortable in hospitality spaces, the most important safety measures to consumers were distanced seating (25%), staff cleaning surfaces (22%) and staff wearing masks (11%).

“The foodservice market recovery will be slow, and there will be significant barriers to growth,” said Katherine Prowse, insights manager at MCA/HIM. “These include consumer wariness and growth in risk aversion to dining, as well as considerable cuts to non-discretionary spending as a result of the upcoming recession.”

“Barriers will also include extra costs held by operators, materials and time for implementing safety measures, and adhering to all of the new government guidelines.”

Given the findings, Prowse added that in order to encourage consumers back to the sector, value for money, provenance and experience would be key.

“Consumers will be in a time of recession, and they’ll be looking to cut back on non-essential spending, whilst provenance will be important for consumers to feel as though they’re supporting their local economy,” she said.

“Experience will also be very important, with food service operators needing to emphasise the experience they can bring to consumers to lure them out of home, and back into their venues.”