How to Help Consumers Answer the Age-old Question: What’s for Dinner?

One constant in U.S. consumers’ culinary lives is dinner. In the U.S., it’s the meal most likely to be enjoyed in groups or as a family. It’s also, unfortunately, the meal that elicits the most anxiety for the person tasked with preparing or acquiring it. For those consumers answering the question, “What’s the plan for dinner?” every day, the most frequent answer these days is, “We’re staying in.”

Our National Eating Trends^® and CREST^®data shows U.S. consumers sourced 81% of their dinners from home in the 12 months ending March 2024, compared to 78% before the pandemic. Though mobility has mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels and people socialize like they used to, economic forces influence where they eat. Inflation is easing somewhat, but retail food prices are still 30% higher than they were in 2019, and average eater checks at restaurants are growing around 3% annually. When we break things down by income groups, we find that even higher-income households, or those making $200,000 or more per year, have started to pull back on restaurant visits after visiting more often since 2019. Reducing restaurant spend continues to be a priority for more consumers, and as more people trickle back to their offices and reduce their work-from-home days, watch for greater demand for satisfying and hassle-free evening meals. Retailers and food marketers have an opportunity to help these consumers – but tapping into convenience-driven trends and generational dynamics will be critical.

The need for convenience is growing at dinner

Now that consumers are more mobile — they’re seeing friends, spending time outdoors, and commuting — no-prep and minimal-prep dinners are essential. We expect to see growth in retail on-the-go meals, which include items from the home that are carried away, as well as items purchased from retail for immediate on-the-go consumption. Heat-and-eat meals, which began their uptick before the pandemic, are growing at every daypart and represent another way consumers prepare in-home meals in less time. And people are eating foodservice items for dinner at home less often than they did in the recent past; National Eating Trends shows at least 19% of in-home dinners relied on foodservice items in 2023, compared to 20% in 2022.

Consumers also rely on other meal shortcuts to speed up meal prep, such as pre-washed and pre-chopped vegetables and pre-marinated and pre-seasoned proteins. These are especially helpful for Gen Z shoppers who haven’t fully developed their culinary skills. Retailers can help these shoppers by adding preparation tips to packaging and displaying meal components together. This assists with meal planning and makes shopping trips quicker and more efficient.

Consumers want dinner solutions

Consumers’ dinner needs vary by day of the week. They’re more likely to devote 30 minutes or more to following a recipe and preparing a more elaborate dinner on weekends and special occasions, but from Monday to Thursday, one-dish or simple dinners prevail. On weeknights, consumers want help. Our Kitchen Audit revealed 48% of meal preparers said they need help with ideas for main meals.

There are also some generational variations when it comes to meal planning and prep. While Gen X dinners are forecast to become simpler with fewer ingredients, millennial consumers will increasingly prepare special-occasion dinners as they hone their kitchen skills. Recipes printed on packaging, or pamphlets provided in-store, could help older shoppers. The best way to reach Gen Z and millennials with meal planning tips is through social media, which is where younger shoppers increasingly seek cooking advice. 

Encouraging appliance adoption

Slow cookers and air fryers can be a best friend for consumers needing a hot meal at the end of the day, and they’re an easy way to rejuvenate leftovers. Retailers and manufacturers should continue to help consumers optimize use of these appliances by providing recipes and ideas on displays and packaging, and of course, by using social media.

Air fryer sales may have cooled after their pandemic surge, though their use is increasing at every daypart. Our Kitchen Audit found that most of the time, people keep their air fryers on the kitchen counter, ready for frequent use. Given that about 66% of U.S. households have an air fryer, we still see that many food brands miss the opportunity to add instructions for them on food packaging, as they do for microwaves and ovens. 

Our data finds more than one-third of dinners are motivated by the human need to connect.  The way consumers meet this need fluctuates based on time constraints and their aptitude in the kitchen. Retailers, manufacturers, and restaurant operators that can help consumers win on cost and convenience will build long-term loyalty.