Eating out is now 'a function of our daily lives,' study reveals

Technomic's New Consumer4Sight Group gathered data from 81,870 consumer foodservice occasions over one year to take a look at the 2015 landscape, the company announced.

Results revealed that more than half of eating-out occasions are unplanned or impulse decisions. Fifty-three percent of all dining occasions show that the frequency of "eating on the fly" accounts for more than twice as many routine occasions (25 percent); special occasions account for 22 percent of dining occasions.

"These numbers quantify a trend Technomic has been following for decades," said Sara Monnette, senior director, Consumer Insights & Innovation, in the announcement. "Twenty years ago, most dining—even taking the kids to a burger chain—was still a special occasion. Now it's a function of our daily lives, it's increasingly casual, and it's far less regimented than the past days of home meal planning and preparation."

Data also revealed that median spending per occasion is below $20, with $6 spent at convenience-stores or QSRs the lowest spend, according to the company press release.

Across all occasions, more than half of consumers want customization and transparency on the menu, and 70 percent want to feel good about their food choices, whether eating from a food truck or from a convenience store, which 37 percent of respondents reported doing about once a month.