A total of 64% citizens said they have no plans to visit a restaurant nor do home delivery of restaurant food for the next 60 days. Only 28% citizens say they have consumed restaurant food in the last 60 days, and most did it by ordering the food at home. Further, only 34% citizens are likely to consume restaurant food in the next two months and most of them will order food at home instead of going for a dine out. The findings of the survey by LocalCircles show that the struggle for restaurants will likely continue for longer than initially expected.
There have been reports that many restaurants and cafes have shut down shops as they were unable to recover even their operational costs due to lack of customers. Many others have said that they are barely hanging on. Restaurants are also seeking permissions from the government to start 'al fresco' or open air dining to ensure physical distancing and minimise the risk of the virus spread.
It has been three months since restaurants became operational and although the industry was quite happy with the decision, consumers have largely stayed away from eating out due to the COVID-19 fear.
On consuming restaurant food, in response, 2% said they visited restaurants several times to eat out and 3% said they visited restaurants just a few times. Another 2% said they didn't visit a restaurant, but did home delivery of restaurant food several times while 21% said they didn't visit a restaurant, but did home delivery of restaurant food a few times (20%). A total of 72% said they neither visited a restaurant nor did home delivery of restaurant food.
This means that only 28% citizens say they have consumed restaurant food in the last 60 days, and most did it by ordering the food at home.
For the next 60 days, 3% said they plan to visit restaurants several times to eat out and 6% said they plan to visit restaurants just a few times to eat out. 3% said they had no plans to visit a restaurant, but will do home delivery of restaurant food several times, while 22% said they have no plans to visit a restaurant, but will do home delivery of restaurant food a few times. 64% said they have no plans to visit a restaurant nor do home delivery of restaurant food, while 2% said they can’t say.
This shows that only 34% citizens are likely to consume restaurant food in the next two months and most of them will order food at home instead of going for a dine out.
Citizens are concerned about catching the COVID-19 infection in restaurants and cafes as they are frequented by a variety of people. Studies indicate that restaurants are most prone to virus spread because of the droplets generated while consuming food and the possibility of air transmission to others because of the centralised air conditioning system.
The results also indicate that most people prefer ordering Indian cuisine much more than international cuisine in India. This is especially true when it comes to tier 2, 3 and 4 towns where international food choices are limited or non-existent.