Shoppers who eat and drink, spend more

Shoppers who make use of catering options at retail locations spend 48% more, according to analysis carried out by UK data intelligence company CACI.

Based on 170,000 exit interviews with shoppers in over 100 retail centres across the country as part of its annual Shopper Dimensions report, CACI's research also shows that different types of catering outlets available to shoppers strongly influence how much they spend.

The latest Shopper Dimensions data indicates that the average spend on catering increased by 9% between 2012 and 2013, a trend largely driven by growth in restaurant spend accounting for 55% of catering spend in 2013 as opposed to 49% in 2012. However, the proportion of spend in cafes and fast food restaurants has fallen from 25% to 23% and from 26% to 22% respectively.

Alex McCulloch, Principal Consultant at CACI: 'This change in behaviour is indicative of a wider shift in the way that people behave and what they expect of a retail activity. In a world where 10% of retail spend is online and is expected to double in the next 10 years, we see shoppers split into two camps: convenience and leisure.'

Convenience represents the path of least resistance, from mobile and iPad shopping to click and collect and the growth of local, high frequency/low basket shopping.

Leisure represents a future for the high street, a pleasurable experience where shopping is part of a more relaxed trip focussed on multi-use activities and includes leisure and catering.

The shift in catering behaviour seen in CACI’s Shopper Dimensions database shows the growth of shopping as a leisure activity and emphasises the importance for retail centres to provide a fully rounded experience encompassing destination retail, high quality catering and a good leisure environment.

McCulloch added: 'The centre that gets a shopper to pause and engage with catering is the centre that sees a significant increase in spend across all retail and ultimately a happy shopper.'