CHICAGO (PRNewswire) — Nearly three out of 10 Americans plan to sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner this year that includes at least one prepared ready-to-eat dish from a retailer, restaurant or caterer, according to a recent Technomic survey. Over the past three years, the proportion of consumers telling Technomic that they would turn to a foodservice source for part of their Thanksgiving dinner has risen, from 23 percent in 2011 to 29 percent in 2013.
Thanksgiving dinner this year includes prepared foods from…
| A grocer/retailer | A restsaurant/caterer | Both | Total | |
| 2011 | 17% | 4% | 2% | 23% |
| 2012 | 16% | 8% | 2% | 26% |
| 2013 | 19% | 6% | 4% | 29% |
Base: 500 (2011, 2012, 2013)
In addition to those incorporating meat, sides or desserts from a retailer, restaurant or caterer into a home meal, 6 percent of those polled in all three years reported that they were planning to share Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant.
"Technomic research consistently shows that consumers view restaurant meals as a way to connect with family and friends," says Darren Tristano, Executive Vice President at Technomic. "Using prepared foods for holiday meals at homes has the same effect; it gets hosts out of the kitchen sooner so they can really enjoy time with their guests."
These and other findings will appear in the next edition of MarketBriefing, a complimentary newsletter prepared by Technomic and published by American Express. To subscribe, go to americanexpress.com/restaurant.