BRISBANE. 12 May 2009 - The Brisbane take away and dining out market is suffering as Brisbanites stay home and cook, according to recent research by the local branch of global information and insight group TNS. Spending on take-away food and eating out over the past six months is down, with one in two Brisbane residents having spent less or put spending on hold in these areas over the past six months.
While spend on take-away food and eating out is down, spend on groceries in Brisbane is up, with one in five spending more on groceries over the last six months than they have in the past.
According to TNS senior research consultant, John Shearer, the study conducted with Brisbane residents in February revealed that groceries are the exception to the trend of reduced consumer spending.
"Not surprisingly, the research has shown that people have changed their spending habits, with a greater trend towards a reduction or maintenance in spending rather than an increase in spending," Shearer said. "Groceries are the exception for two reasons - people are forgoing take away and eating out, electing to cook and eat at home in a bid to save dollars, and there have been increases in the cost of many grocery items." The top areas that consumers have targeted to trim expenses also include entertainment out of the home, holidays, and household and major purchases.
"While these more expensive areas are top of the list in terms of where people would reign in expenditure, what we are seeing is a clear division, with some comfortable to maintain or even increase spending on these items," according to Shearer.
The table below illustrates this point.
|
Change in spending
|
Entertainment out of home
|
Holidays
|
Major purchase (e.g. house, car)
|
Household purchases (e.g. furniture, TV)
|
|
Spent less or put spending on hold
|
44%
|
42%
|
32%
|
47%
|
|
Spent more or haven't changed
|
51%
|
43%
|
42%
|
43%
|
|
Not applicable
|
5%
|
15%
|
26%
|
10%
|
Q: Listed below are some things that people can spend their money on. For each one, can you indicate the extent that you have changed how much you spent on them over the last six months? N.B.: Responses for entertainment out of home, holidays, household and major purchases shown, not full list of items asked in study.
"We are definitely seeing two tribes when it comes to consumer confidence - most of those who are being more cautious have mortgages or other large financial commitments, while those who are less cautious tend to be full time workers who are not tied down. "However, both tribes appear to be cutting back on the take away and dining out, in favour of increased grocery spend, with these trends noticeable across the board."
-ends-
About TNS
TNS, who recently merged with Research International, is the world’s largest custom research agency delivering actionable insights and research-based business advice to its clients so they can make more effective business decisions. TNS offers comprehensive industry knowledge within the Consumer, Technology, Finance, Automotive and Political & Social sectors, supported by a unique product offering that stretches across the entire range of marketing and business issues, specialising in product development & innovation, brand & communication, stakeholder management, retail & shopper, and qualitative research. Delivering best-in-class service across more than 70 countries, TNS is part of Kantar, the world’s largest research, insight and consultancy network. Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.
The Kantar Group
The Kantar Group is one of the world's largest research, insight and consultancy networks. By uniting the diverse talents of more than 20 specialist companies - including the recentlyacquired TNS - the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and actionable insights for the global business community. Its 26,500 employees work across 80 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle. The group’s services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies. The Kantar Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP Group plc. For further information, please visit www.kantargrouptns.com
