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Restaurants

Customers not ready to return to restaurants, despite reopening: study

A new study shows it could be months before customers feel comfortable dining out

By Michael Hollan Fox News
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Maybe getting a reservation won’t be so hard after all.

While many businesses, especially restaurants, seem eager to reopen, a new study suggests that not all of the customers are ready to return. Based on the results, fewer than half of the people surveyed would feel comfortable going out to eat within a month of restaurants reopening.

Sorry we are closed sign board hanging on door of cafe

Only 40 percent of Americans who participated in the survey said they would go out to eat during the first month of reopening, Busiess Insider reports, based on Harris Poll data. (iStock)

Only 40 percent of Americans who participated in the survey said they would go out to eat during the first month of reopening, Business Insider reports, based on Harris Poll data. The survey tracked “consumer sentiment” in regard to restaurants over the last 15 weeks.

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According to the most recent survey from the end of June, 20 percent of the respondents said they would wait two to three months after to coronavirus infection curve flattened to go out to a restaurant. An additional 17 percent said they would wait four to six months, with another 10 percent saying they would wait up to 11 months.

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Over 10,000 restaurants have already closed permanently since the beginning of March, Business Insider reports.

While foot traffic to restaurants has reportedly shown an upward trend as the businesses start to reopen (mainly for outdoor dining), those numbers are significantly lower than where they were in previous years. Part of the reason for this, however, is that many restaurants are still not able to operate at anywhere close to full capacity.

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Many restaurants have pivoted to to-go orders, but they still haven’t been able to make up for the loss of being able to serve diners on the premises.