Covid Influences on Indian Spending: Fewer Restaurant Trips and New Apparel, More Home-cooked Food?

The pandemic has had a major impact on consumer spending. Most hit categories were hotels, alcohol, tobacco, and clothing, however, the spending was more on food. 

“They cut back on soft drinks and juices, but not on their morning cup of tea or coffee,” according to the report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on consumption in the financial year 2020-21. 

“Food and domestic utilities were the only bundles of products to show a positive growth rate as compared to the previous, non-pandemic fiscal year (2019-20), while expenditure on all other categories fell,” the report further stated. 

Bengaluru-based Tiffin service company Sprink has reported a similar trend. 

Kumar Setu, Co-Founder, Sprink, “Pandemic helps people understand the nutritive value. Whether they are cooking at home or ordering from meal delivery services. Home-cooked foods are the ones that are transforming the industry. Those who do not want to cook, have a busy schedule, or are away from homes, such as Economic Migrants, Office Goers, Working Parents, Seniors, and Students, order meals from home-cooked food platforms.”

According to the MoSPI statistics, the worst-hit consumer sectors in the pandemic year were — restaurants and hotels, clothing and footwear, durable and semi-durable goods, transportation, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics (intoxicants), and furnishing and recreation sectors. 

These sectors reported an over 10 percent decline in growth in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20. In the same period, overall consumption in these sectors fell by 6 percent.

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