70 % of foodies say no to ordering food or dining out: Survey

Hyderabad: Wary of COVID 19, foodies have decided to avoid going out or ordering food from favorite restaurants for another month notwithstanding the relaxation in the lockdown.

A survey conducted by LocalCircles, an online community social media platform revealed that most of the foodies are not interested in dining out or ordering food from favorite joints.

Of the 24,000 respondents who participated in the survey, 70 percent said they wouldn’t go out or order food from their favorite restaurant for 30 more days. Only 20 percent, according to the survey, desired to visit the restaurants. All those surveyed are known for their love for food

When asked about the reason for not visiting a favorite restaurant, 38% said they feared contracting infection from the staff, visitors, or even food. However, 12 percent of people said they do not want to spend on eating out.

The survey also noted that a good percentage of people are not giving- up on ordering food online. 25 percent of citizens said they will order food once or more via food delivery apps in the next 30 days.

“This means that 87 % of citizens do not want to visit a restaurant in the next 30 days due to the fear of catching the virus while 61% were also reluctant to spend on eating out,” the report said.

Earlier, LocalCircles survey showed that post-COVID-19 lockdown, people are more inclined to get things delivered to their doorsteps, rather than going out so that they could insulate themselves from the infection.

When asked how many times they would order food using delivery apps in the next 30 days, 16% said they would order 1-2 times and 6% said 3-4 times. 64 percent said they would not order restaurant food, while 10 percent of respondents were unsure of what they would do.

“This means that 25% of citizens will order restaurant food once or more via food delivery apps in the next 30 days, and these numbers are likely to increase with time,” the report suggested.

Despite relaxation, dine-in services at restaurants have been barred across the country. Since the lockdown, the dine-in business has dipped to zero, while food delivery orders in restaurants have increased by 90 percent, according to the study.