EHI white paper: Retail gastronomy in Germany 2023

The retail companies in Germany have already reached the level of the pre-Corona year 2019 with their gastronomy turnover in 2022, according to a result of the current EHI white paper “Retail gastronomy in Germany 2023”, which was created in cooperation with GfK. However, inflation has also contributed to this development. “The increased expenditure on food and energy, for example, has also been reflected in the prices of gastronomy offers in retail and contributed to the growth in sales,” explains Olaf Hohmann, member of the Executive Board and author of the whitepaper. The study shows the retailers’ view of their gastronomic offers and the consumers’ behaviour.


Retailers optimistic about the current year

In 2020, trade gastronomy sales decline by around 24.5 per cent compared to the pre-Corona year 2019 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. In the following year 2021, it rises again slightly, with a drop in turnover of 22.8 percent compared to 2019. In 2022, trade gastronomy turnover benefits from the end of the pandemic situation and reaches the level of the pre-Corona year 2019 with around 10 billion euros in turnover. However, the growth is not insignificantly driven by the price development. The trade restaurateurs surveyed are optimistic for 2023. They expect a positive development with an average increase of 9.2 per cent, so that a total turnover of trade gastronomy of about 11 billion euros can be expected.


Older people spend more

On average, customers in retail gastronomy spend 5.43 euros per purchase (April 2022 to March 2023). This means that the average receipt of 4.90 euros has increased by 10.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The group with the most purchasing power is the 55+ age group, which spends an average of 5.70 euros on their meal or snack. More than 60 per cent of the expenditure in commercial catering is made by customers aged 45 and over.


Times and places of consumption

At just over 25 percent each, customers spend the most money on breakfast and lunch, followed by 18 percent on snacks in the afternoon. A total of two-thirds consume their culinary purchases on site or on the go: 44.3 percent eat on site and 20.8 percent on the go (To Go). Only around 15 percent each have their meal or snack at the office or at home.



Download whitepaper in German language: https://www.ehi.org/produkt/whitepaper-handelsgastronomie-in-deutschland-2023-pdf/

Definition:

Trade catering is the continuous offer of gastronomic services as well as beverages and ready-to-eat prepared meals that are directly or conceptually related to trade activities.

Data basis:

Two surveys were conducted for the whitepaper “Retail gastronomy in Germany 2023”:

• EHI survey (from 2 – 24 March 2023) of 34 catering managers from retail companies representing 16,204 shops. The German retail companies surveyed generated a gross turnover of approx. 111 billion euros in 2022.
• GfK survey of 7,500 people aged 16 to 69 who continuously record their out-of-home purchases every day. The sample is demographically representative of the population in Germany and takes into account the population of 57.3 million people in 2022.