Eating in the Fast Lane

September 15, 2003, NEW YORK, NY--After surveys found Americans prone to nesting and comfort tendencies after September 11, many magazines popularized the notion that slow-food, the Crock-Pot, and fondue parties were all the rage again in the U.S. In reality, we're eating in our cars more than by candlelight, according to Ipsos World Monitor, a global reporting service owned by Ipsos, the worldwide market and public opinion research firm. The latest survey, conducted in May and June 2003, compared eating habits in ten countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, the Ukraine, the U.K., Romania, Russia, and the U.S.

Barely half (54%) of Americans are still sitting down to the table with their family "most days", which trails far behind the 88% of Italians who do so this frequently (the survey average is 62%). Of the surveyed nationalities, Americans are also the most likely to eat at restaurants, the most likely to get take-out food, and the most likely to eat alone often ("every day" or "most days").

"As much as we might like watching Emeril or Nigella on TV, many of us are on intimate terms with the burger, the Styrofoam container, and the drive-thru speaker-phone", observed Gus Schattenberg, a vice president in the company's global division. "Very few of us seem to have the time or inclination to put together a family sit-down dinner very often, even if we might want to."

Most Americans are still eating three times a day but where, when, and whom with no longer follows tradition. Frequently Americans are letting someone else do the cooking: one-third of Americans (32%) eat at restaurants at least a few days a week and a further 29% of Americans do so once a week. Italians are the next-most likely (18%) to eat at restaurants at least a few days a week, then the Czechs (12%). Meanwhile, more than half of the respondents in Hungary, Poland, Romania, urban Russia, and the Ukraine said they never eat at restaurants--compared to only 5% of Americans.

Not surprisingly, given the busy schedules of most Americans, the survey revealed that Americans are big on take-out: one-third (33%) reported picking up lunch or dinner at least a few days a week, and nearly another third (27%) get take-out food bought from a restaurant, deli, or food-stand once a week. Except for Britons--13% of whom get take-out at least a few days a week and 24% once a week--Americans are more than twice as likely to get take-out as people in the other countries surveyed. Less than 10% of Germans, Hungarians, and Ukrainians eat take-out food once a week or more.

Moreover, a lot of the food Americans eat is eaten on the run: at least 1 in 5 eat on their way to somewhere else at least a few days a week, a trend that is especially pronounced among men and younger adults. Almost half (46%) of Americans eat a meal alone frequently (at least most days), of which a good proportion are doing so every day, making them the most likely surveyed nationality to be eating alone frequently.

For more information, please contact: Gus Schattenberg Email: [email protected] Vice President Global Research Services Ipsos-Insight Tel: (604) 893-1606

About Ipsos World Monitor

The research in this press release is based on information made available exclusively to Ipsos World Monitor subscribers. World Monitor covers global consumer and civic trends based on primary research data, and delivers findings to subscribers through an online database of fresh research alerts (posted weekly) and archived research as well as four quarterly print publications. To find out more about Ipsos World Monitor, visit www.ipsos-insight.com.

The Global Express Research Methodology

These international survey research data were collected via Ipsos Global Express, a quarterly international omnibus survey. Fieldwork was conducted between May 15 and June 29, 2003. Data are based on individual surveys taken with a random sampling of adults (18+) across 10 national markets. The target sample size in each country was 250, except for Russia where 500 interviews were conducted and the United States where 1,000 sample in the United States. Within each country, the survey results can be said to be within 177 6.3 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult population been surveyed; 177 4.5 percentage points for the 500 sample in Russia; and 177 3.1 percentage points for the 1,000 sample in the united States. In 9 of these 10 surveyed countries, the samples provide national coverage. In many of these national sample countries the data were collected via randomized telephone interviewing, the exceptions being the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Ukraine, where in-person door-to-door interviewing was used. Door-to-door interviewing was also used in the non-national sample of Russia where the sample coverage was limited to urbanized areas with a population above 20,000 persons. For further information on the survey methodology used for Ipsos Global Express polling program, please contact Rob Breitkreuz, Global Express Director.

About Ipsos-Insight

Ipsos-Insight is the company's flagship marketing research division. Ipsos-Insight provides custom and tracking research, including concept and product testing, attitude and usage studies, omnibus surveys, tracking systems, brand loyalty, volume forecasting, marketing models, and advanced analytics, to domestic clients as well as U.S.-based multinationals. It also acts as the portal to Ipsos specializations in advertising research, forecasting, modeling, and consulting, global research, public opinion research, and customer satisfaction research. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos-insight.com.

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