Indians say no to dining out till COVID-19 pandemic ends, finds study

Most urban Indians are in no hurry to visit a restaurant until the coronavirus pandemic is over or at least until they get vaccinated, according to a YouGov survey released on Friday, with greater fears of contracting the virus in the second and more virulent wave of the pandemic.

As many as 41 per cent said that they would visit a restaurant only after the pandemic is completely over, while 24 per cent said they would go after they are vaccinated, according to the data collected by YouGov Omnibus from 1,005 respondents in India from April 27 to May 3 this year.

The survey claims that its data is representative of the adult online population in the country.

Only 22 per cent said they are likely to dine out once restaurants re-open or the lockdown is lifted. Few others (13 per cent) are unsure of their decision yet.

Among the different age groups, adults over 40 years of age were most likely to say they will dine out once the pandemic is over, but adults between 18 and 39 years were more likely than them to visit a restaurant upon vaccination.

Further, in the current phase of lockdown, people are more comfortable getting home delivery of food, with 58 per cent of the respondents saying they order at least once a week.

When asked about the places they usually order from, two in five people (38 per cent) said they order from restaurants offering healthy menus. A quarter (25 per cent), however, orders from QSR chains such as McDonald's, KFC, etc.

Slightly fewer (19 per cent) order in from fine-dining restaurants. Only 5 per cent prefer to order from home chefs or tiffin services.

At 62 per cent, the boredom of eating home-cooked food is the biggest motivation to order, the survey found. This was followed by the inability to dine out during the pandemic (53 per cent).

Some people ordered food to celebrate special occasions (45 per cent), while others ordered when they didn't have the time to cook (38 per cent) or when domestic help was not available (36 per cent).

Some others called for food for its variety (31 per cent), or to avail offers or deals available on ordering (23 per cent).

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