Business Intelligence

TWC

Home entertaining opportunity confirmed as pandemic legacy

Research shows almost seven in 10 consumers have entertained friends and family at home in the past month or plan to do so soon.

The importance of entertaining at home, a legacy of the pandemic, has been highlighted in a new report. The TWC report finds almost seven in 10 consumers saying they have entertained friends at home in the past month and/or plan to do so in the next month. This is greater than those that have met friends and family in a pub, and implies a significant opportunity for retailers.

The research also shows that four months after full lockdown ended in July, 83% of the nation has visited a hospitality establishment in the past month, higher than the proportion saying that they had visited a supermarket (80%).

Sarah Coleman, TWC’s Director of Communications, said: “Retailers have an opportunity to target home entertaining occasions, to meet the needs of those that don’t want to go out, or indeed those who have enjoyed entertaining at home through the pandemic and wish to continue. If current concerns about the new Omicron variant lead to further restrictions, retailers need to be prepared for an increase in at-home occasions.”

The report also shows that businesses who get to know their customers are likely to get ahead.

Coleman added: “Over a third of consumers agreed that c-stores should collect and use customer data to offer personalised products and promotions. If we align this back to the question of home entertainment, stores have a real opportunity to think about marketing new occasions through deals and promotions and driving loyalty with customers. Data plays a pivotal role in this. Our report shows that 53% of the population is happy for businesses to collect data.

“Those businesses that aren’t close to their customers will be the ones that lose out. You can be sure that if you aren’t targeting your customers with personalised offers, that the shop or restaurant down the road – or Deliveroo – will be.”