The Tracker, which uses data from Britain’s leading managed restaurant and pub groups, found that sales were just 1% below November 2020, when businesses were subject to much tougher restrictions on eat-in trading than they are now.
November’s research shows delivery sales were 192% higher than in 2019 — far outstripping the 25% growth in takeaways and reflecting consumers’ switch from picking up food to having it delivered to their door.
While 2021-on-2019 growth has slowed since hospitality venues reopened earlier this year, the Tracker says deliveries and takeaways are likely to attract another wave of interest over the last few weeks of 2021 as anxiety about the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 mounts and people are working from home where possible.
“Covid-19 concerns threaten to badly damage the eat-in and drink-in sales of Britain’s restaurants and pubs this Christmas, but at-home sales could prove a lifeline to many fragile businesses," says Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA.
"Deliveries and takeaways are now deeply embedded in consumers’ habits, and December is likely to give them fresh impetus.
"This sector is going to be a crucial battleground for all operators and suppliers as we enter 2022, and understanding consumers’ attitudes and preferences will be pivotal to success for all players.”
Combined, deliveries and takeaways accounted for just over 28 pence in every pound of spending at managed groups in November 2021.
Growth in this sector continues to be much higher than in eating and drinking out, with the November edition of the separate CGA Coffer Business Tracker — which has a different cohort of contributing companies — indicating that managed groups grew their sales by just 2% from November 2019.
