Consumers are cost conscious about eating out habits

Consumers are becoming increasingly cost-conscious when dining out by cutting back on starters, desserts and alcohol consumption and ordering dishes they can share.

QuickBite, the eating out quarterly tracker conducted on behalf of market analyst Horizons, has found that consumers are increasingly price-conscious when it comes to eating out. More than half of respondents (54%) take price into consideration more often than they did six months ago.

Spending on alcohol is particularly affected, with 51% saying they now spend less on alcohol when eating out, and 39% are ordering fewer starters and desserts and more are sharing dishes.

"While it seems people are continuing to eat out, they are looking for ways to reduce the cost, taking advantage of money-off vouchers and the heavy discounting going on among restaurant operators," said Paul Backman, Horizons' development executive.