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Back in October 2018, The Independent published a post that explored eighteen different industries being killed by millennials, with casual-dining chains headlining. This was further explained in a post from The Guardian, in which restaurants such as Jamie’s Italian, Carluccio’s and Byron all reported a downturn in profits for this first time in eight years.
In fact, according to several reports, sales at these sorts of establishments have dropped dramatically over the last few years, and they all seem to believe millennials are to blame. This generation does appear to prefer eating and indulging in entertainment at home, with nightclubs, pubs and land-based casinos all struggling to boost their attendance numbers significantly. Staying at home is quite obviously financially smarter than going out, but it seems to also be just as entertaining: why is that?
Home Entertainment Is Better Than Ever
It’s not all about the food. Going out to eat rarely comes without a barrage of other forms of entertainment, but all of these – from a quiet night at the cinema, to a glamorous evening at the theatre, to a late one splashing out at the casino – can rack up bank-busting costs. So it isn’t all that surprising that the numbers going out are dipping, considering how easy it is to have an evening of entertainment from the comfort of your own home.
This is often with the help of the internet: people can bring cinema, theatre, casino and more to their own home for very little money. With a Netflix or Amazon Prime account, you can gain access to brand new films and iconic TV shows for as little as £5. The range of series or films you can watch is vast and it’s much cheaper than going out for dinner and a movie.
Meanwhile, brick-and-mortar casinos are being thoroughly overtaken by their online counterparts, with huge collections of games on offer for a fraction of the price (especially when you factor in not buying expensive drinks at the bar). It’s just as realistic – you can partake in live casino games which grant you real-time interaction with the dealers – but arguably more user-friendly, as you can read more here about blackjack before you “double down or split” – a benefit you arguably wouldn’t get at a land casino. So you see, in reality there are few things a night out can offer millennials these days that aren’t cheaper online.
Dining in on Your Favourite Dishes
All that entertainment and we haven’t even got to how easy and cheap it can be to eat in. Staying in to eat at home has always been the more frugal way to dine on an evening, but it seems to have become even more popular over the last few years.
Again, the internet steps in. With apps like Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo, hungry folk can order in plenty of food for a reasonable price and eat their favourite meals without having to step foot in a restaurant. While the food will often cost the same as it would in-house, with the possibility of added delivery charges, extra expenditure on petrol, drinks or last-minute extras are completely negated, saving millennials even more money.
We can’t say for sure if millennials are responsible for the downturn casual-dining restaurants are experiencing, but it is clear that the appeal of staying home is greater than ever, with a variety of entertainment and food options available with just the click of a few apps or webpages. Though there’s always the chance of restaurants becoming popular destinations again, it certainly seems financially smarter, and perhaps even more entertaining, to stay home.
