Catering, the new openings focus on digital

The balance is negative: in the first quarter of the year 2,997 new companies opened in Italy cateringagainst 9 thousand terminations, for a negative balance of 6 thousand years (data Chamber of Commerce). To weigh the race in prices, higher upstream costs, theinflation which led to a change in consumer habits, who found themselves having to make precise choices in the face of a lower spending capacity. The situation is revealed by theTheFork Observatory And Format Researchwhich analyzed the characteristics of the openings of new restaurant businesses in Italy.

These are mainly focused on Lazio (821), Lombardy (620) and Tuscany (422). Italian cuisine restaurants stand out (62%), second place for Asian cuisine (15%), third for pizzerias (10%), followed by meat/fish restaurants (7%) and international cuisine (Greek, French, Mexican, etc., 6%). In terms of positioning, 62% place themselves between 15 and 30 euros spent per person.

If 80.8% of consumers said they eating away from home at a restaurant for dinner or lunch on the weekend at least once a month28% eat a meal in a restaurant once a week.

Among the methods and channels used to identify new premises, the most popular remains the word of mouth (59.6%), followed by web searches and booking apps, such as TheFork (58.8%). Also social have now a key role: 70% of consumers say they have come across posts and videos where restaurants are suggested and, for 61% of them, this has prompted them to try them. The digital it is increasingly central to the choice, it is a facilitator: they like the possibility of booking online (21.4%) and paying the bill digitally (17.8%). Thus, more than 45% of new openings offer the booking option through their website.