IGD has identified a “significant shift” in consumer behaviour as the price of restaurant meals and takeaway food continues to increase.
The percentage of on-the-go occasions involving purchases made while consumers are out has dropped sharply, from 75% in 2024 to 36% in 2026. By contrast, occasions where food and drink are prepared at home before people leave have almost tripled, rising from 10% to 29%.
According to IGD, the trend could suggest that retailers are securing a greater share of spending that once went to food-to-go businesses, as consumers continue to reduce their budgets.
Routine occasions now represent 67% of all consumer occasions, while 73% happen in the home. This points to fewer impulse purchases and less spontaneous consumption of food and drink.
IGD also noted that shoppers are increasingly relying on products bought during their main grocery shop. As a result, repeat purchasing and relevance in everyday life are becoming more important than occasion-based sales.
Shannon Goldsmith, away-from-home senior insight analyst at IGD, commented: “With convenience shifting from the high street into the home, retailers are increasingly capturing occasions that were once won by food-to-go operators.
“This makes winning a place in shoppers’ regular repertoires more valuable than ever.”
Generation Z is the consumer group most likely to undertake both food-for-now and food-for-later missions. These shoppers also use a broader mix of retail channels than any other generation.
They show particularly strong engagement with convenience-focused shopping and are among the biggest users of quick-commerce services.
By comparison, Baby Boomers tend to choose familiar retailers, trusted brands and well-established shopping patterns. They also shop through fewer channels than younger consumers.
Rosie Young, shopper insight analyst at IGD, said: “What’s changing isn’t consumers’ desire for convenience, but how they achieve it.
“The idea of a typical convenience shopper is disappearing as generations build very different habits around food, shopping and consumption. This creates opportunities for businesses that can tailor convenience missions to evolving routines.”