The managing director of symbol group retailer Spar has stated that independent retailers can use food-to-go to their advantage during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Louise Hoste, who has held the position of MD since 2019, has said changing customer habits due to tighter incomes could play into the hands of independent retailers.
“We’re seeing food services as an opportunity,” Hoste told BetterRetailing.
“What we’re starting to see is people are going to eat out less, so there’s more opportunity for them to eat in.
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“They could get the meals for eating in from a convenience store. It could be a pre-prepped ready meal, or frozen meal, but it could equally be a food-to-go meal. It’s an opportunity for convenience stores to take right now.”
This comes as a raft of retailers launched their full Christmas dinner at a cheaper price to help shoppers save during the cost-of-living crisis.
However, the symbol group MD added that there are also many opportunities around alcohol relating to the ongoing World Cup tournament.
According to Hoste, people may not be able to afford to go out for a drink and will instead recreate what “they got used to during the pandemic”.
She added: “One of the pieces I really remember in lockdown was the demand around bigger packs of beers, which historically would have never sold in a convenience store.
“People were buying them and we’ve now retained many of those customers.”
