The rise in COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious Delta variant has only deterred 15% of consumers from visiting on-premise establishments less frequently, market research firm CGA found.
“The main drivers to choose to stay at home rather than visit bars/restaurants are cost and comfort,” CGA wrote in a report about the Delta variant’s effect. “Concern around COVID is a factor for one- in- three, with choice of a home occasion impacted by concern around catching and spreading COVID.”
In a survey conducted between August 25-27, 22% of respondents said they are going out to dine and drink less frequently, but their reasons for doing so varied by age and location. Roughly the same amount (23%) said they are visiting more than normal; 55% said they are visiting at the same rate.
Of those going out less, Californians (78.2%) were more likely to say they were staying home due to the Delta variant. Respondents in other key markets were still concerned about Delta, but less so in Illinois (61.4%), Texas (63.6%), New York (63.6%) and Florida (66.3%).
Being “concerned about getting ill due to COVID-19” ranked among the top five reasons for staying home for all age groups, but was more prevalent among respondents age 55 and older (36%), than for those aged 35-54 (32%) or aged 21-34 (28%).
For 21- to 34-year-olds, the most common driver for choosing to stay home was that “it costs less” (46%), followed by “more comfortable” (42%), “more relaxing” (38%) and “it is easier” (35%).
The middle age range (35-54) said they opt to stay home because it is “more comfortable” (45%), “it costs less” (44%), “it is more relaxing” (43%) and “it is easier” (32%).
Respondents aged 55+ called out the reduced cost of staying home as their biggest reason for doing so (59%), followed by home being “more comfortable” (35%). Older respondents also said they are “avoiding busy settings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19” (33%), and they prefer to prepare their own food (32%).
Across all survey markets, 65% of respondents said they feel “comfortable visiting bars and restaurants” and 59% are “visiting bars and restaurants as normal but keeping an eye on the COVID-19 infection rates.”
Social distancing (47%) and mask requirements (38%) were the “leading sources of comfort for people to continue listing the channel should cases keep increasing,” CGA found. However, respondents’ feelings toward other mitigation measures varied by vaccination status.
“Vaccinated guests are far more influenced by COVID-related safety measures than unvaccinated guests,” CGA wrote. “Operators still need to be overtly managing health and safety messages even as vaccination rates increase and/or if their customer type is likely to be vaccinated.”
Vaccinated respondents said they would feel more comfortable visiting bars and restaurants even amid a Delta-fueled surge if the establishment practiced social distancing (51%), required proof of vaccination to enter (43%), mandated mask wearing (42%), set up screens between tables and booths (30%), and required negative COVID-19 test results to enter (21%).
Non-vaccinated consumers said they would feel more comfortable visiting on-premise businesses if they practiced social distancing (34%), required masks (28%), placed screens between tables and booths (20%), offered table service only (14%) and required negative COVID-19 test results to enter (10%).
Only 27% of non-vaccinated respondents said they would be much or slightly more likely to visit bars and restaurants that required proof of vaccination or a negative test result to enter, compared with 65% of vaccinated respondents.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) said they feel “completely/quite comfortable” visiting bars and restaurants in the next few weeks, but fewer respondents felt the same way about visiting “experience-led outlets” such as stadiums and event venues (44%), traveling interstate for work (43%), attending face-to-face business meetings (42%) or attending large-scale festivals (36%).
The majority (51%) of respondents said they are “completely/quite comfortable” having to go to the bar to be served, and 50% are “completely/quite comfortable” with guests not having to wear masks while away from their tables. Almost 60% said they feel “completely/quite comfortable” interacting with service staff in the same way they did before the pandemic.