The government’s ‘eat out to help out’ scheme launched on Monday and there are hopes that retailers could feel a halo effect after diners flocked to shopping locations for a cheap bite.

The initiative entitles diners to 50% off their food bills at participating restaurants from Monday to Wednesday, up to the value of £10 per person, and will be operating throughout August to help boost the economy and persuade customers to eat at struggling dining destinations.

As well as many specialist restaurants, bars and cafes, retailer cafes, such as those at Morrisons and Marks & Spencer, are participating, perhaps delivering a footfall uplift in stores, as well as eateries everywhere from high streets to shopping centres and retail parks.

Footfall driver?

11. M S cafe

M&S cafes are participating in the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme

On Monday, there was a significant improvement in week-on-week traffic across all UK destinations. Footfall jumped 19.5%, according to data from Springboard. That change may, however, reflect the fact that there was heavy rain across the country the previous Monday, giving a weak comparable.

The rise in footfall on Tuesday and Wednesday was more modest, up 1.2% and 2.7% respectively week on week.

For the three days together, year-on-year footfall was still around a third lower – a similar level to the previous week.

These figures indicate that a dramatic impact on footfall in the early part of the week has yet to be seen.

Some restaurant owners have also expressed concerns that the scheme may have a detrimental impact on customer numbers on Thursday to Sunday when it is not on offer, which could affect shopper footfall. 

Every little helps

Franco Manca Westfield

The offer has been popular so far at restaurants in Westfield’s London centres

Shopping centre owner Hammerson has found that while the scheme has not so far brought malls back up to pre-coronavirus shopper numbers, the reopening of food and beverage operators has been a step in the right direction.

UK and Ireland managing director Mark Bourgeois said there had been queues at eateries such as Wagamama and Franco Manca as the offer kicked in.

“It certainly all helps,” says Bourgeois. “This last week, we’ve seen footfall in UK flagship shopping centres edge up. We were at around 50% of pre-Covid levels. This week, we’ve edged up more towards 60%. It certainly helps that there’s been really good take-up and that’s the feedback we’re getting from our food and beverage occupiers.”

Westfield, which owns the White City and Stratford shopping centres in London, also said there had been a positive response to the scheme.

“The scheme has proved popular so far. We see a steady increase in footfall with retail and food and beverage outlets opening back up,” a spokesperson said. 

The weekend conundrum

Morrisons Market Street cafe

Morrisons’ cafes are offering the 50% discount all week to shoppers

While the dine-out initiative was good news for diners and restaurants alike early in the week, there is some concern that custom will simply be shifted from the ordinarily busier weekend period to earlier in the week, which does little to help overall footfall.

To counter this, some restaurants are choosing to extend the scheme all week.

Morrisons’ cafes are offering the 50% discount all week to shoppers and passing on the separate 15% VAT cut on food and drink for hospitality companies directly to customers, reducing prices further.

“We want as many customers as possible to be able to take advantage of ‘eat out to help out’. Many customers visit our stores later in the week, so we’re extending this offer throughout the week,” says Morrisons head of cafes Ali Lyons. The retailer has not commented on whether there had been a halo effect in store.

To allow more families to eat in store, Morrisons is also letting children eat free of charge all day.

Other restaurants are also adapting the scheme, which may help footfall in their areas.

Chains such as Dishoom, Carluccio’s and Giraffe have removed the £10 cap on the 50%-off offer, while Hard Rock Cafe has followed Morrisons’ lead by extending the deal to Thursday and Friday.

If a clear shift in customer numbers is felt over the coming weekend, other restaurants may also follow. 

Eating local

Many local high streets have fared best as lockdown restrictions relaxed, as shoppers have often chosen to stay nearer to home rather than travel to big destinations.

Mountain warehouse richmond

More staycations have benefited retailers such as Mountain Warehouse

Retailers such as Mountain Warehouse, which is often found in smaller market towns, reported an uplift in shopper numbers in holiday destinations such as Devon, Cornwall and the Lake District, and some stores have even registered record daily sales figures according to chief executive Mark Neale.

Neale said it was too early to assess the impact of ‘eat out to help out’ on footfall. However, he expects the high demand Mountain Warehouse has experienced to continue throughout August and September as consumers stick to staycations – that could bode well for other retailers in such locations who may benefit further if the meal deal proves a sustained footfall driver.

M&S also said it was too soon to see the exact impact of the scheme until there is data over a longer period, but customer numbers were growing each day.

Like Morrisons and pub chain Wetherspoon, M&S is also passing on the 15% VAT cut, meaning there will still be a discount available throughout the week.

An M&S spokesperson said: “‘Eat out to help out’ was popular with our customers over the first couple of days. With word spreading about the great value on offer, we saw more customers visit each day so Wednesday saw the biggest uplift.

“With the VAT hospitality cut fully passed on to our customers, they’ll still be able to get great value every day of the week.”

The true impact of the initiative is yet to play out, but if the momentum continues in the coming weeks as shoppers become more aware of the benefits, it could make a difference. Retailers will be happy to take any help they can get.