HOUSEHOLDS are spending more money in restaurants and hotels than on cigarettes and alcohol, according to statistics for the financial year ending March 2016.
The Office for National Statistics’ Family Spending Survey revealed that families spend an average of £528.90 a week. The report claims the move coincides with a slowdown in consumer confidence.
Weekly, around £45 of that is spent at restaurants, cafes and hotels. Compared to the previous year, this is an increase of £1.80.
It was the first time in five years that such spending had climbed over £45 per week.
Over the same period the average weekly spend on alcohol, tobacco and narcotics fell below £12 for the first time.
Category includes spending on goods and services such as: restaurant and café meals (£17.30); alcoholic drinks consumed away from home (£7.50); takeaway meals (£4.70) and accommodation services (£8.90).
A total of 11,484 households were selected in 2015/16 for the survey in Great Britain.
Meanwhile, an NPD market research report shows consumers are increasingly dining out for breakfast.
Between 2012 and 2016, visits to restaurants serving breakfast – to eat in or take out – jumped 21% in the UK, 13% in France, 16% in Germany and 11% in Italy.
Bacon still hits the sweet spot in the UK, served in one in four breakfasts, whereas the French still go for an espresso and pastry option (14%). In Italy, it’s a croissant (68%) and the Germans tend to opt for a sandwich (44%).
Take-out sales are a key factor to the success of breakfast for food outlets. But even luxury hotels are getting in on the act.
Chefs are increasingly moving away from the humble croissant – jumping on the vegan trend for example, featuring organic bread, gluten-free crispbreads, and little pots of black olives and spirulina or goji berry muesli.
And while breakfast is currently enjoying its moment of glory on the food scene, “drunch” – “dinner” and “lunch” — is gaining ground in restaurants in North America and Europe. The idea is to fill up with a meal eaten mid-afternoon to avoid spending Sunday evening cooking dinner.