Social differentiation and the market for eating out in the UK

Data collected under the ESRC Research Programme 'The Nation's Diet: The Social Science of Food Choice' offer an opportunity for detailed analysis of British eating-out habits. 1001 respondents in Bristol, London and Preston reported on their use of various types of eating-out venue. We find evidence of considerable market segmentation. The eating-out product is significantly differentiated, with 'ethnic' venues appealing to certain social groups for particular reasons. The paper uses logistic regression to distinguish the factors affecting the probability of exposure to each type of restaurant. Age, earnings and household income are important but vary in their specific effects. We find additional, independent effects of locality, occupational class, education, and ethnicity. We describe and recommend logistic regression as an analytic technique for explaining differential participation in the selection between different types of places to eat out. © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.