Meal between the shelves: Eating in shops is trendy

A plate of pasta in the furniture store or a sandwich in the supermarket: People in Germany have never spent so much money on food in the so -called commercial catering – i.e. for offers on the area of ​​shops and markets. This emerges from a survey published by the retail research institute EHI in Cologne among 34 trading companies, which have a total of 11,300 branches.

It is about local, snack bars and other food offers on the area of ​​trading companies and fast food restaurants in shopping centers. Examples are the Ikea restaurant and the “hot counter” with sausages or the bakery in the supermarket entrance area where there are sandwiches. Such gastronomic offers should upgrade the shopping experience by easily eating something.

According to the EHI survey, sales in commercial catering in Germany increased by 6.1 percent to around 12.4 billion euros in 2024. For this year, an increase of 4.1 percent is forecast to EUR 12.9 billion. The survey does not show whether the increase in sales is more due to price increases or a larger sales quantity.

Economic weakness has a positive effect here

The EHI experts justify the attractive shops in this market segment with “muffled consumer behavior” in the face of the weakening economy. The logic behind this assumption: People look more at money than before and some prefer to eat inexpensively in the shopping center rapid restaurant instead of going to a classic restaurant with higher prices elsewhere.

The “Trading Down” – the conscious change to cheaper offers – plays a central role in the development of commercial catering, according to the commercial research institute. In economically tense times, consumers looked for ways to reduce their expenses.

Before Corona, the sales of commercial catering in Germany had been ten billion euros, according to the EHI Institute, in 2021 this value dropped to only 7.6 billion euros due to the pandeme. Since then it has been going uphill step by step.