According to research recently published by HospitalityGEM, one in four people are eating out alone at least once a month. The biggest reason for this increase in single diners is the ever-increasing merge in work-life balance activity and the growing acceptability of combining work with dining.
Restaurants that are benefiting from this trend tend to fall into the casual dining category, particularly those with the ability to offer WiFi and individual power sockets. A great example of this is Café Rouge’s newly opened restaurant in Victoria Place Shopping Centre at Victoria Street Tube Station. To appeal to those customers keen to work while they eat, Café Rouge has installed a large communal table fitted with power points “for anyone who fancies a glass of wine or bar food while they do some after-work emailing, with free WiFi available too”.
Recognising the importance of meeting their customer needs, Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain has gone a step further – in June 2014 it confirmed that it is teaming up with Duracell Powermat to let customers recharge mobile devices wirelessly. Customers can place their compatible devices atop so-called Powermat Spots on counters and tables to recharge them. Initial plans are in place to roll Powermat Spots out across all US Starbuck outlets, with ambitions to implement pilot programmes in Europe and Asia within the next 12 months.
