Lunchflation Impact in Australia: Local Eateries to Take a Hit as Employees Interviewed Plan to Reduce Their Lunch Outings by 50%

• As per UserTesting’s survey, 85% of respondents feel lunchflation is a serious concern as food prices rise
• Office-goers anticipate spending less at local cafes and small businesses in response to increasing food prices

SAN FRANCISCO & SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UserTesting (NYSE: USER), a leader in video-based human insight, conducted a survey to study the effects of the rising costs of lunch items due to inflation, which is being called Lunchflation, on Australian employees as they plan their return to the workplace. As per the survey findings, 85% of respondents believe lunchflation to be a serious concern as prices of food items are continuing to rise.

The sharp increase in the prices of popular lunch choices like sandwiches, tacos, salads, coffee, etc. has altered the preferences of Australian employees. About 90% of respondents mentioned that coffee has observed the highest jump in the prices when compared to other food items. Other lunch options to follow this trend were salads and sandwiches.

Lunchflation - Not a deterrent to going back to office:
Nearly 3 out of 5 respondents (55%) indicated that lunchflation doesn’t affect their return to office decisions. Some of the reasons include the fact that some companies have made it mandatory for their employees to come back into the office, so it’s not a matter of choice. Though, as a cost-saving measure, employees responded that they would be open to the option of bringing home-cooked meals and reducing the frequency of lunch outings.

Office-goers plan to reduce their lunch outings:
One of the interesting insights drawn out from the UserTesting survey was that office-goers indicated a stark reduction in their frequency of eating out during office lunch hours when compared with the pre-pandemic period. 55% of the respondents said that they bought outside lunch 3-4 times a week, while today, about 50% would like to go out only 1-2 times a week. One of the reasons for the changing eating habits was that the wages were not keeping up with the rising inflation. As a result of the reduced frequency of eating out, the business of the local cafes, restaurants, food vans and small businesses could see an impact to their bottom line.

Lunch provisions at work: A pull factor for employees
Nearly 4 out of 5 (70%) respondents reported that they would be more inclined to get back to office if their employers offer provisions for lunch. The reasons included cost-saving for employees, not having to leave the office at lunch and waiting in lines to purchase food. When asked about their preferences for lunch, the options ranged from a completely free lunch to employee discounts or coupons for local establishments. If free lunches were offered, many called out their desire for healthy food options.

About UserTesting
UserTesting (NYSE: USER) has fundamentally changed the way organizations get insights from customers with fast, opt-in feedback and experience capture technology. The UserTesting® Human Insight Platform taps into our global network of real people and generates video-based recorded experiences, so anyone in an organization can directly ask questions, hear what users say, see what they mean, and understand what it’s actually like to be a customer. Unlike approaches that track user behavior then try to infer what that behavior means, UserTesting reduces guesswork and brings customer experience data to life with human insight. UserTesting has more than 2,300 customers, including more than half of the world’s top 100 most valuable brands according to Forbes. UserTesting is headquartered in San Francisco, California. To learn more, visit www.usertesting.com.